A Month of Festive Action Against Atos and the Benefit Cuts

With thousands to face homelessness in the New Year due to housing benefit cuts, the harassment and further impoverishment of hundreds of thousands of disabled people due to punitive ‘assessments’, the continued persecution of people on sickness benefits, soaring unemployment and forced labour in the name of Workfare, a truly Victorian Christmas is on the cards for millions of us.

Whilst Atos CEO and disability denier Keith Wilman tucks into his organic Christmas turkey or multi-millionaire poverty pimp Emma Harrison of A4e hangs tinsel in her tax payer funded stately home, millions of disabled people, parents, the low paid, unemployed or sick people and pensioners are facing a future of poverty, worsening health and homelessness.

Parents will be spending Christmas terrified that the new demands of conditionally for benefits, such as forcing single mothers into workfare schemes, will leave them unable to properly care for their children. People will life threatening conditions or mental health problems will be terrified that their upcoming Atos assessment, notoriously flawed as it is, will further strip them of vital and life saving benefits. Tens of thousands of low waged families are about to be socially cleansed from city centres due to housing benefit cuts whilst unemployed people face the prospect of being forced to work full time and still survive on just a few pounds a day.

The Welfare Reform Bill will see millions of disabled people forced into a similar, if not identical, testing regime for the new Personal Independence Payment that has tragically led to suicides amongst people already forced to undertake Atos’ Work Capability Assessments

For the last year disabled people, claimant activists and supporters have been protesting against the inhumane treatment being inflicted on already vulnerable people. Scores of protests have been held outside (and sometimes inside) the offices of Atos ‘Healthcare’, the largest ever march of disabled people and supporters has taken place, protests have been held outside the Daily Mail, A4e offices and other workfare providers and online activity about benefit issues has exploded.

Still the Tory Government pushes ahead, with their Lib Dem lap dogs never far ahead. We need more than ever to increase the pressure and fight these attacks on our most basic needs and very survival. Organise and help spread the word now, please list all local actions and protests on the facebook event page above or email them to:  notowelfarecuts@yahoo.co.uk and we will do our best to help promote and support all events as much as we can.

Alternatively why not gather up your friends and turn up to spread seasonal cheer at your local Atos unannounced and then tell us about it afterwards. Everyone loves a surprise guest at Christmas!

We will not stop until they kill us.

A list of Atos corporate offices can be found at:  http://uk.atos.net/en-uk/a bout_us/locations/

A PDF of all Atos Assessment Centres is available at:  http://www.atoshealthcare.com/UserFiles/File/fact-sheets/2011/Assessment%20Centre%20Location%20List_July%202011.pdf

Sign the petition against benefit cuts:  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968