A STRIKE WITH NO BENEFITS

At the end of January, Job Centre and Benefits Office staff were on strike in Walthamstow. This is part of an ongoing national dispute, in which benefits workers are opposed to the introduction of new "open plan" centres, which mean the removal of security screens.

The fact that recorded incidents of violence against Benefits Agency staff doubled last year to 5,000 shows that workers do have grounds for concern over their safety. The stabbing of a security guard in Leyton Job Centre in November emphasises the grim situation locally. But why the escalation in violence?

People are forever saying "it's a more violent society". But anyone who's been claiming for the last few years will have direct experience of the kind of changes that have massively increased tensions between staff and claimants at the dole office.

New Deal, New Slavery

From the mid 90s it was no longer a case of simply signing on and cashing your giro. First there was the JSA, then Project Work, then Labour's New Deal. Different names, but all with the same aim: to ensure that choosing to stay out of work is no longer an option. The state says that you can no longer hang on until a job comes up that's in line with your skills, preferences, or pays decent wages. Certainly no longer can you choose a "job-free" life of voluntary work, leisure and political activism.

In practice, what this means is that after six months out of work, you'll be put under increasing pressure to accept any sort of work at any sort of pay, or forced onto training schemes or "placements" (that's work for no pay). If you don't like it, your benefits can be stopped. Not only this, but the JSA and New Deal have meant more of claimants' time is spent filling out ridiculous forms and sitting for hours in dull and demeaning "back to work" interviews.

Bullied

No doubt the New Deal has genuinely helped some people into jobs that they wanted. But for those left on the dole it's made matters worse. Their lives are wasted in useless schemes, placements and interviews, and they are belittled and bullied throughout the whole process.

Over 6% of Waltham Forest's working age population are dole claimants, and more claim other benefits, such as housing. The ICL housing benefit fiasco has left some people waiting over seven months for their housing benefit. This is outrageous and warrants wholesale office destruction, not just a bit of fisticuffs!

Action for employees

It's the benefits system, not the workers, who are to blame. But if your dole's just been cut by someone across the counter, you'd be crazy not to get a little bit annoyed with them. Workers showing resistance to these open plan proposals, need also to be attacking the nasty new regimes that cause such misery and anger in the first place. If benefits workers want to take action against their employers, great. But the most effective action would be to process every claim, quickly, efficiently, and with no questions asked. Then they could work shorter hours, they'd have the bosses begging for mercy, and violent incidents would quickly drop to somewhere around zero.


Signing on? Here's where you can get some help and advice that the DSS won't want you to have

Want to know how to deal with the New Deal? We can send you information on what they are and are not allowed to get you to do, and how best to cope with additional pressure you may be getting from DSS staff. We also have a JSA Survival guide which we will send you a copy of free of charge. Just drop us a line - contact details are on the back page.

Also organising locally are the Newham and District Claimants Union. They meet at 7.30pm on alternate Thursdays at Durning Hall, Earlham Grove, Forest Grove, London, E7 9AB.

We reckon it's about time that there was a similar claimants group in Waltham Forest. We can do so much more for ourselves and others when we are organised together. Get in touch if you are up for it.


Alternative Alf Garnett

Sometimes when I get home from work I really can't be arsed to do anything. I can't be arsed to cook, can't be arsed to go to the gym, can't be arsed to go out for a pint, can't be arsed to read a book, can't be arsed to think, can't even be arsed to get wound up about anything. Anything, that is, apart from Jamie Oliver.

No matter what time of the day it is, what mood I'm in, or how knackered I am, the sight of this complete and utter fucking wanker never fails to drive me insane with hatred. There he is, the self satisfied little shit, with his trendy clothes and dolly-bird wife, in his perfect little trendy inner city yuppie house - nicely insulated from the lowlife scum outside of course, who he chooses to patronise every now and again.

You tosser. If there's a vanguard of the inner city trendy types moving in to our neighbourhoods and pushing house and rent prices through the roof, then it's this fucking prick here.

You just can't get away from him. He's everywhere. His annoying little chubba cheeked, rubber lipped face grinning out from bus stops, billboards, bookshops, TV ads, supermarket shelves...you name it.

Mr fucking Sainsburys. The happy smiley face of a company that makes billions of pounds profit out of what? FOOD! For fuck's sake. It's a good job these greedy fuckers haven't worked out how to package air. If they had they'd be flogging that at a premium.

And where does Mr oh so working class (while it's trendy) get the inspiration for his cooking? From the women of Southern Europe and North Africa he admits. That's right, some of the poorest, longest suffering people on the planet, who cook meals that have evolved over centuries. A diet moulded by economic hardship as much as a harsh natural environment. Because you see, Mr Naked Twat, for us necessity breeds ingenuity, while at the same time the middle class breeds obnoxious little parasites like you who cash in on that ingenuity. You haven't got a creative bone in your pathetic lardy arsed body. Just bucket loads of self esteem and arrogance.

Oliver, you fat tongued, mockney cunt. If I ever, ever see you out on the streets I'm gonna stove you massive melon-shaped head in. Melon head a-la pavement. Now there's a recipe worth making.


Progress? Or Hobson's choice?

Last month, residents in 2,600 homes in Leyton and Leytonstone voted to transfer control of their housing from council to a private trust. 62% of those voting were in favour of the higher investment promises of Quadrant Housing Trust. The council, cutting its housing budget by 21%, probably never had its heart in retaining the buildings, which amount to 16.7% of its current stock.

It's unlikely that the private sector will be able to deliver real improvements to tenants. A recent report showed that in 2001 house prices in our borough rose by a ridiculous 21%, as landlords cash in on our new found "trendiness"(!). Of course, what this will mean in practice is that if you're low-income you'll be increasingly priced out of the area. Although the jury's out on Quadrant, as a general rule council housing is worth defending as it does guarantee roofs over the heads of people in most need, rather than those able to bid the highest price. (See "Wot Anarchists Fink" in this mag, which looks at private versus state ownership).

But it's not too late to dig in and defend our homes: Council housing cuts mean cuts in housing workers, so they're understandably pissed off and a strike ballot is pending. Whatever action they take, they deserve our support. We say: Get Organised! Form residents groups now to defend your rights and push for better quality housing, be it from council or private companies.


Who are the McGuffins?

A group of local people who are proving that even the most seemingly powerful foes can be humbled by collective strength and determination. In their own words...

"The McGuffin Film & Television Society was formed at the beginning of 2001 following Odeon Cinema's decision to sell their historic Walthamstow venue with a restrictive covenant preventing the new owner from screening English language films. Within weeks of being established, over 100 local people signed up to join the Society and help overturn Odeon's edict.

McGuffins launched a vigorous campaign to persuade Odeon management to drop their restrictive sales clause and restore the Walthamstow cinema as a community wide resource. After several months of campaigning , Odeon finally relented and and EMD Cinema is now able to screen films from any country and in any language. Since then the cinema has gone from strength to strength and has generously allowed the McGuffins to screen our own regular programme of art-house, classic and cult films at the venue."

The McGuffin Film & Television Society is a non-profit making organisation run by volunteers. For more information email:  themcguffins@hotmail.com.


Anarchy Aunt

The answer to all of your personal and political problems (probably).

Dear Anarchy Aunt,

Last week I was invited to my father-in-law's family gathering. There seemed to be hundreds of people there, old school and work pals, neighbours, kids. I couldn't shake the idea that I would barely be able to gather together most of my immediate family, let alone that many friends. None of my connections seem to stem back more than a couple of years, let alone a lifetime. I guess I have moved around a lot due to work and relationships. I know it isn't just me though, I mean, how many of us would invite our neighbours to a party? The most I would do is tell them so they don't complain about the noise! Am I just a sad and lonely loser?

Dave

Dear Dave,

The fact that you have made such a perceptive observation most definitely means you are not a loser! It is a sign of the times that you don't feel like there is any sort of community around you. We live in a world where money concerns force people to move to where there is work, and which squeezes many people's time (and energy) for socialising into one intense relationship. Many people barely have more than a handful of friends and may well not sustain family ties.

I don't know what your relationship is with your family or old friends, but if there is anyone you would like to talk to/see, maybe you should just pick up the phone, or write a quick card. Once you start to feel confident in a couple of supportive relationships, you can use this platform to step off in to the rest of the world.

Feeling part of a community is what should give us strength and continuity in our lives. When we start to direct that strength at making changes to the things that keep us down, then that is revolutionary.


Woman's own

On the 5th February, the new Women's Library in Aldgate, London, opened its reading rooms, following a large input of money from a National Lottery grant. So what are we to make of it? The library houses a lot of archived material from the suffrage (votes for women) movement, so it isn't exactly rich in anarcho-feminist writings.

As I was cruising past the plush reception desk on my way out, I picked up a leaflet on forthcoming events. Stella Rimington, ex-head of MI5, had spoken at their annual lecture in November 2001. "Ah, poor Stella" they cry, "a woman struggling to rise in the predominantly male world of the Secret Service". Regardless of the discrimination she faced within the job, I can't comprehend the inclination of anyone to be the head of the Evil Empire. Sympathy: Nil point. Then there's Cherie Booth QC, a successful working woman, or so they tell me (they also say she is married to some right-wing loon who thinks he is running the country).

The idea that these women should be held up as icons of feminine achievement really pisses me off. The Women's Library and other likeminded organisations, e.g. The Fawcett Society, seem to be setting themselves up as a bastions of (white middle class academic) feminism - detached from the realities of many women's lives.

Of course, not all women's activists fall in to this category. There were many women supporting the men in their communities during the 1984-5 Miners Strike for example, or women like Walthamstow's own Lucy Waugh who passed away recently.

Lucy most notably campaigned in the 70s for the right of local women to free contraception, and also for the right of women cleaners to unionise. Coming from a large working class family, with no financial support to seek further education, Lucy came to the women's movement late in her life, determined that younger women should have the freedoms that had not been available to her. I am pretty sure she did not view herself as an anarchist, but she located herself very much in the community and the issues of the working-class women around her. It is women's lives such as this which inspire me to fight for change.


International Women's Day gathering

On 8th - 10th March a network of anarcho-feminists and radical anti-capitalist women will be getting together in Hackney. For more info contact: 07988 365 992.


Leytonstone Activist Group (LAG) is a new group that has just formed in the Leytonstone/Leyton/Wanstead area of east London. It contains radicals of varying kinds, from anarchists to libertarian socialists to progressives and social justice activists who want to build a community of resistance to capitalism and the state. So if you live nearby why not get involved?!

Visit the LAG web site at www.leytonstonia.org.uk and the email contact to  info@leytonstonia.org.uk.


Obituary: Mika Talvilahti

4th March 1974 - 28th December 2001

It is with great sadness that I write of the passing of London-based anarchist Mika Talvilahti, at the tragically young age of 27. He was born in the town of Saarijaervi, in the rural Jyvaeskylae region of Finland. Like many young Finns, he was radicalised by the state’s presumption that he was its property, and that as such he should serve in its army.

Mika rebelled against the call to military service, throwing his lot in with the 'objectors'. His life would never be the same.

The Finnish state has taken advantage of the country's close proximity to the old USSR to generate a culture of contempt for those young men who refuse to 'do their duty' and defend 'their country'.

When you refuse military service in Finland, you are not just defying the state, but also public opinion.

Mika fought both, his brave and defiant spirit moving him to involve himself more deeply in radical politics, adding anti-fascist work to his activities. At the age of 22, with work in short supply (particularly so for objectors), he packed up and made his way from Saarijaervi to London.

A deep thinker, on his arrival he spent a long time mulling over his political experiences to date. Despite the social censure he had experienced in Finland, he hadn't lost his faith in the revolutionary potential of working class people. In his usual unassuming and unaffected manner, he figured that if a self-educated man like himself could become an anarchist, anyone could!

He decided he should move beyond activities emphasising a particular single issue, and work instead to spread revolutionary anarchist ideas and action in general.

He involved himself in the activities of the London group of the Anarchist Federation, and helped set up the Walthamstow Anarchist Group, into which he put a tremendous amount of time and energy.

Though he died young, Mika filled his life with more meaning than many who live to 90, but who never question what they are taught, never question the status quo, never strive for freedom. He confronted the authority of the state head on, and came out on the other side still fighting.

It is this kind of life, a life full of love for liberty and strength of will, that gives so much hope for the future.


Laugh? I nearly spilt me pint!

An aeroplane was about to crash; there were 5 passengers on board but only 4 parachutes. The first passenger said, "I'm Michael Owen, the best footballer in England. The country needs me to stand any chance of winning the World Cup, I can't afford to die." So he took the first pack and left the plane.

The second passenger, a pioneering surgeon, said, "I'm but weeks away from developing a new medical technique which will save the lives of thousands of people. I must live to continue my work." She just took the second parachute and jumped out of the plane.

The third passenger, George W. Bush, said: "I'm President of the United States of America, I have a great responsibility being the leader of a superpower nation. I must use my position to rid the world of terrorism forever. And above all I'm the cleverest President in American history. America's people won't let me die." So he put on the pack next to him and jumped out of the plane.

The fourth passenger, an 80 year old man, says to the fifth passenger, a 10 year-old school girl, "I am old and frail and I don't have many years left. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. I have lived my life to the full. I will sacrifice what is left of it and let you have the last parachute. The girl said, "It's OK, there's a parachute left for you. America's cleverest President has taken my school back-pack."


We are all the Underdog!

If you are involved in a local campaigning group, such as the McGuffins, and need to publicise your cause then drop us a line and we'll give some space in The Underdog over to you. We know that there are a lot of people involved in different stuff locally and would really like to get stories straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.

The council have been getting away with it for too long now and we will be only to happy to include articles sticking the boot in to them. Likewise, anything about what our lovely local bobbies have been up to will be gratefully received. Contact details are on the back page.


Ground Zero resistance

In early February, 20,000 or so anti-capitalist demonstrators were in New York to oppose the summit of the World Economic Forum, proving all of the pundits who claimed that the anti-capitalist movement would flounder after September 11th totally and utterly wrong.


And meanwhile, in Argentina...

'The workers and people cry "They must all go, not one must remain!", and the night gets underway.'

At the time of going to press the political situation in Argentina is coming to a head. The spontaneous riots and looting that broke out in mid-December have proved not to be just flash-in-the-pan outbursts of anger, but the start of what is turning into a revolutionary uprising. The above quote from a participant in the growing demonstrations is yet another sign of the anarchist nature of the people's actions. They don't just want to get rid of their current politicians, they want to get rid of all of them. We British anarchists have extensive contacts with our brothers and sisters in Argentina and are monitoring the situation closely. Some anarchists occupied the Argentinian Embassy in London and replaced the Argentinian flag with an Anarchist one! - a remarkable event which was totally censored by the mainstream press.

The speed at which the struggle has developed is truly amazing. If it can happen there, it could happen anywhere, including right here.


Wot anarchists fink

This issue, we continue our regular look at anarchist theory with a different angle on the age old debate between Public VS Private ownership:

Public/private VS workers' control

Whether it's the railways or schools, refuse collection or the NHS, there is always much political argument about how public services should be run. This is part of a wider debate about how "production" as a whole should be organised. Traditionally, there are two main camps: the Right, who argue for private ownership of industries and services; and the Left who argue for nationalisation, that is, state control.

Anarchists oppose privatisation, such as private sector involvement in Waltham Forest's education and health services. Private companies exist to create a profit for their owners or shareholders. Profits are increased by cutting costs and increasing charges. This is done by providing a poorer service to many, especially the most needy, and by attacking the conditions of workers within the industry.

The key to anarchist objections to nationalisation is that private and state industries look much the same: they both have rigid hierarchies of overpaid bosses and poorly rewarded workers. As well as being hierarchical, state run industries still exploit workers economically. Royal Mail, for example, has made millions of quid profit for years - and even if they didn't make a profit they would still be exploiting workers, they just wouldn't be very good at it! This is because the fundamental relationship between worker and employer hasn't changed at all. The worker is still selling her labour to someone who gives them less than the value of it in return - she is still a wage slave. It is still capitalism.

If you have read Robert Tressell's classic book 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists', you will be familiar with the argument that the ruling class, through the state, deliberately create crap public services. The left (fulfilling their allotted role in the capitalist structure) go round telling everyone that these crap services are 'Socialism' - that is, that they are the alternative to Capitalism. Between them, the left and the capitalists create highly effective anti-oppositional propaganda. When, for example, some lefty group or another tell people to "Defend the NHS" they are telling us to defend the right to wait 2 years for a hip operation. And they are surprised when people don't join their pointless campaigns!

We argue for "workers' control of all work-places" as an alternative to any form of hierarchical management and economic exploitation. Workers are better placed than anyone else to decide what and how to do/make, and are quite capable of making these decisions in a democratic way, and working co-operatively without being constantly bullied by bosses.

Some people think this is far-fetched, but in the bits of our lives we still have some control over, we often operate like this. Imagine organising a picnic with friends and family: someone agrees to make sandwiches, someone else brings drinks, someone brings games for the kids, everything can be sorted in a voluntary, co-operative way.

At various points in history, Catalonia in 1936, France 1968, Clyde shipyards 1972, workers have occupied work-places, and organised production along these lines. Likewise, in the 60s the Black Panthers, set up their own schools and food halls to make up for a lack of provision by both private companies and the welfare state. Today, workers' co-operatives and fully mutual housing co-ops attempt to practice a similar model of workers' or tenants' control. Such examples are limited because of the harsh capitalist climate they must operate in, but those involved tell of the joy of taking control of an area of their lives.

Let's not get brow-beaten into believing that the only possible ways of organising our world are either letting private individuals get away with murder, or allowing the state to impose a repressive order. All power to communities and workers' collectives: make bosses and politicians redundant!


What's it all about?

The Underdog has been produced by the Walthamstow Anarchist Group, a collective of local anarchists, revolutionaries, and all round troublemakers. Its aim is to help build up an opposition to the sysyem in our area and one day, with a bit of luck, overthrow it in its entirity. If you like what you read in the The Underdog and would like to help out by writing the odd article, telling us how we can improve it, or by distributing it then give us a shout.

The Walthamstow Anarchist Group meets regularly in the area. If you want more information on what else we do, get in touch. Telephone 07810 288 889 or e-mail:  info@walthamstowanarchy.org.uk. Visit our website www.walthamstowanarchy.org.uk.