Protesters against compulsory “work-for-your-benefits” schemes succeeded in shutting down A4e’s Edinburgh office on Wednesday 16th June. A4e cancelled all appointments and stuck up a notice declaring their Earl Grey Street office closed for the whole day, as demonstrators gathered outside.
Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty organised the demo, as part of the UK day of action called by the NO TO WELFARE ABOLITION network. Protests were also taking place round Britain, including in Nottingham, Brighton, Manchester, London, and Newcastle.
The Edinburgh demonstration lasted around two hours, with around 20 participants, and culminated at the nearby High Riggs Job Centre. Several new people joined ECAP’s solidarity network, whereby people support each other by turning up to demonstrate if someone has serious problems with the authorities, such as having their benefits cut, being homeless or being menaced by sheriff officers.
Many passers-by stopped at the ECAP stall outside A4e, one man suggesting that A4e be challenged to a public debate to try and justify the massive amount of public money they are paid. Police were in attendance all day but did not try and stop the demo.
A spokesperson for ECAP said:
“We hope that today’s demo is just the start of action against A4e and compulsory slave labour schemes.
We are battling to force A4e to recognise the right of claimants to be accompanied to interviews at their offices. On 15th June four of us accompanied a claimant into A4e for his interview there – since A4e refused to hold the interview with an ECAP rep present, the claimant said he didn’t want the interview to go ahead. Now A4e are rescheduling the interview – we demanded and got a written assurance that the claimant’s benefits would be safe in the meantime. We will be back next time to insist on this basic right.
If we join together then we can force companies like A4e and the benefits authorities to make concessions, eg we could insist that instead of being sent on work placements we can continue doing existing voluntary work or courses. If there are enough of us prepared to take direct action then we could make their schemes unworkable.
“Welfare to work” effects us all, waged or unwaged. Low income, temporary and insecure jobs will be replaced by “work for your benefits”. Privatisation of the Department for Work and Pensions role, e.g. bringing in profit hungry firms such as A4e, is an attack on DWP/ Jobcentre Plus workers and on our rights to access welfare.”
Unemployed people claiming Job Seekers Allowance are, after a specified period signing on, forced to attend private companies such as A4e under threat of having their benefits stopped. A4e, in their turn, try to force these claimants to work for their benefits on temporary work placements at both voluntary sector organisations and at private companies. ECAP are urging workers to pressure their employers not to use this slave labour.
