In Bristol the Solidarity Federation will joinMembers of Bristol & District Anti Cuts Alliance, Youth Fight for Jobs, Bristol Anarchist Federation, The IWW (union), Right to Work and others to fight-back against Workfare providers. Workfare is a term used to describe a range of schemes in which people are forced to work without wages in order to receive their benefits. The protest will assemble at the Band-stand, Castle Park at 1.00pm. Saturday 31st March. Join us to end this state subsidised free labour scheme that only benefits corporations and not unemployed workers.

Across the globe actions will be taking place over three days in the "Fight against Capitalism". We have received information about participation in the IWA Actions Days from: ZSP (Poland), CNTF unions (France), KRAS (Russia), AIT- Portugal and NSF (Norway). The IWA- Action Days also coincide with the European Day of Action against Capitalism on March 31 (M31), partially organized by FAU (Germany), USI-AIT (Italy) and  CNTE (Spain).

In Bristol the Solidarity Federation will join Members of Bristol & District Anti Cuts Alliance, Youth Fight for Jobs, Bristol Anarchist Federation, The IWW (union), Right to Work and others to fight-back against the Workfare providers. Workfare is a term used to describe a range of schemes in which people are forced to work without wages in order to receive their benefits. The protest will assemble at the Band-stand, Castle Park at 1.00pm. Saturday 31st March. Join us to end this state subsidised free labour scheme that only benefits corporations and not unemployed workers.

WORKFARE IS CLASS WARFARE

So how can we fight back? As we have seen, both workfare providers and the companies who take unpaid workers via the schemes are in this for one reason: money. This is also their weakness. Anything that hits them in the pocket and therefore makes the costs of workfare go up makes it more likely they’ll pull out, and ultimately for the schemes to collapse. Such direct action can take many forms:

• Reputational damage. Many high street firms spend millions on their brand images. The negative publicity around workfare has already caused numerous firms to pull out. Pickets, protests, occupations and so on all help in this regard.

• Economic damage. Pickets can turn shoppers away, or flash mobs can force stores to close. This all costs firms money, and when head office gets calls from store managers across the country, workfare doesn’t look such an attractive option.

• Communications blockades. Many modern businesses are highly dependent on telecommunications to function. Bombarding select phone numbers or emails with complaints about workfare can force the issue and therefore add to the cost of using workfare labour.

The Solidarity Federation is a revolutionary union initiative: a way for working class people to organise and fight for a better world.
SOLFED.ORG.UK