{"id":670,"date":"2010-11-25T00:36:15","date_gmt":"2010-11-25T00:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk\/?p=670"},"modified":"2018-01-04T00:40:27","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T00:40:27","slug":"claimants-students-join-together-to-resist-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk\/?p=670","title":{"rendered":"Claimants & Students Join Together to Resist Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty organised a demo on 24th November against benefit cuts and workfare and in solidarity with the students UK-wide Day of Action against education cuts. After assembling at High Riggs Job Centre and demonstrating at slave labour provider A4e, the 30-strong ECAP contingent joined the student march to the LibDem\u2019s office at Haymarket, Edinburgh.<\/span><\/p>\n

The students have now\u00a0occupied Edinburgh University’s Appleton Tower<\/a>\u00a0at George Square and a speaker from ECAP spoke at the rally outside the occupied building at mid-day on 25th November, emphasising the need to link up all the struggles against all the different cuts. He gave the local examples of the unemployed struggle against A4e, who are denying claimants representation, the Council refuse <\/span>collectors<\/span>, who are resisting wage cuts, and the parents, carers and workers fighting nursery closures in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another speaker from the Black Triangle group denounced the vicious attacks on claimants who have disabilities or are sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ECAP leaflet for the 24th urged the need for direct action such as walk-outs, strikes and occupations, and stressed:<\/span><\/p>\n

“This is a fight both local and global, against the rich who quaff\u00a0 \u00a31300 bottles of wine in Hong Kong and Dubai while we worry about putting the heating on. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Join us in the fight to defend people\u2019s living standards and dignity against these cuts, and to show solidarity with the students. We are all in this together.”<\/span><\/p>\n

This leaflet was distributed by ECAP at High Riggs job centre and outside A4e:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NO TO ALL CUTS \u2013 WE WON\u2019T PAY FOR THE RICH\u2019S GREED<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefit cuts and being made to work for your benefits effects us all whether we are working, unwaged or in education\/training. Low income, temporary and insecure jobs will be replaced by free labour under “welfare to work”. This will effectively cancel out the already un-liveable minimum wage and means that companies can rely on forced labour rather then pay staff a decent wage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Privatisation of welfare by bringing in profit hungry private firms like A4e and Ingeus is an attack on DWP\/ Jobcentre Plus workers as well as on claimants\u2019 rights to access welfare.\u00a0 Companies like A4E will make a killing from rising unemployment, as they become middlemen in these forced labour schemes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lest we forget, the Labour Government have already privatised large sections of the welfare system, wasting billions, and were planning much the same cuts to pay for the greed-driven gambling of billionaires and bankers.<\/span><\/p>\n

All the parties sing from the same hymn sheet\u00a0supplied by their Tax Dodging friends.\u00a0\u00a0They mess up, and we pay up.<\/span><\/p>\n

You will have no choice; failure to comply will lead to sanctions of up to three years suspension of benefits and the risk of almost unimaginable poverty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuts in Housing Benefits\u00a0will force many from their homes at a time when 3 million people are already struggling to pay their mortgages.\u00a0 These cuts will socially cleanse and ghettoise huge areas on a scale not seen for decades .<\/span><\/p>\n

Attacks on benefits for people with disabilities\u00a0through new unfair tests are threatening real suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can fight back.\u00a0\u00a0Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty\u00a0and\u00a0Edinburgh Claimants\u00a0are fighting for the rights of the unemployed, the disabled and people on low incomes using tactics ranging from advocacy through legal channels, to direct action.\u00a0 We have had many small but significant successes against bad landlords, unjust benefit decisions, uncaring officials and private job companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walkouts, Strikes and Occupations\u00a0have been used by Bangladeshi Garment Workers, by Greek and French resisters to austerity and pension cuts, by Visteon Factory Workers, by communities occupying closure-threatened schools in the west of Scotland and in recent student protests here and abroad. \u00a0The protesters occupying the Tory HQ in London show the way!\u00a0 This is a fight both local and global, against the rich who quaff\u00a0 \u00a31300 bottles of wine in Hong Kong and Dubai while we worry about putting the heating on. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Join us in the fight to defend people\u2019s living standards and dignity against these cuts, and to show solidarity with the students. We are all in this together.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Latest info on anti cuts occupation of Edinburgh University:\u00a0<\/span><\/em>http:\/\/edinunianticuts.wordpress.com<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The occupiers have issued a call: “We\u2019re working hard on expanding our struggle. We\u2019ve already had amazing support from people like Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty and school student protesters, and we want to support their fights too.” The occupiers are inviting non-students to come down to the occupation and have outlined ways that everyone\u00a0can get involved.<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t\t