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Anti-cuts, anti-workfare - IWW film night and discussion - this Saturday night!

West Mids IWW | 29.09.2010 19:48 | Workfare | Public sector cuts | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Birmingham

What is ‘Workfare’ and why is it bad news for the unemployed?


Since October 2009 those unemployed for 12 months have been placed on the “Flexible New Deal”. It means working 30 hours a week for a month just to be able to claim benefits. Private companies have been given £500 million in handouts to make the unemployed jump through hoops and compete for non-existent jobs. It is all Workfare - working for benefits. It means working for about £1.60 an hour, less than a third of the minimum wage.

A Day’s Work, A Day’s Pay tells the story of Work Experience Programme (WEP) workers in New York who organised against being made to work for a lot less than the union wage for the same job.

After the film there will be an opportunity to discuss the issues raised with IWW members involved in the No To Welfare Abolition network.

Lamp Tavern, 157 Barford St. Digbeth B5 6AH

Saturday, 2 October, 7:30pm

West Mids IWW
- e-mail: westmids@iww.org.uk
- Homepage: http://iww.org.uk/westmids


Comments

Hide the following 2 comments

organise against slavery

29.09.2010 20:53

Fair play to you. We need to start organising against this workfare scheme, which is analagous to slave labour or prison work. We need to show that we are not just commodities to be used so that that the fatcats can get fatter off the fruit of our toil.

anarchist


A Dole Army

30.09.2010 15:05

I`m sorry mate but showing a film is not going to move the argument along and neither is another political organisation taking up the mantle of fighting for the unemployed, when we all know there doing it to increase membership. I am not saying this just against the IWW, but would also add unions in with this. This argument does not deprecate in anyway what they do for workers’ rights.

Yes we need to organise and my I add the “Unemployment Movement” in this as a place to start. It’s not about giving advice but mounting a real defence of the unemployed, against workfare, against cut to welfare, as a non-ideological movement building upon those who are not interested in politics. Survival is a greater incentive than the preaching of a few and the true politics of anarchism will be seen to come from this.


terratech
mail e-mail: admin@unemploymentmovement.com
- Homepage: http://unemploymentmovement.com


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