xmas closure

Due to the Kingsgate Community Centre being closed over Xmas 2019 the last KUWG meeting for 2019 is Thursday 19th December, recommencing in 2020 Thursday 9th January. Happy Post-Election Xmas, if possible!

UNITE COMMUNITY NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO STOP UNIVERSAL CREDIT THURSDAY 24TH MAY 2018 CULMINATING IN RALLY AT OLD PALACE YARD OPPOSITE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AT 1PM WITH JEREMY CORBYN ATTENDING.

Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group in conjunction with Brent Unite Community Branch will be protesting same day 11am-noon outside Harlesden Job Centre -anyone else welcome. We will be handing out Unite Community leaflets, and also KUWG leaflets which follow Disabled People Against Cuts call to SCRAP Universal Credit for good. See below:

THE DISGUSTING NATURE OF

THERESA MAY’S UNIVERSAL CREDIT

Below Q&A From Prime Ministers Questions 9/5/18

Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)

In the past year, the Trussell Trust has given out over 3,000 food parcels to my constituents in south Manchester, half of them to families with children. The trust says that the Government’s flawed roll-out of universal credit has fuelled the 13% rise in food bank use over the past year. How does the Prime Minister explain the rise? 

​The Prime Minister

“Obviously, the Hon. Gentleman knows that we do not want to see anybody having to use food banks. As we have rolled out universal credit, we have listened to the concerns raised and we have changed the arrangements as a result”.

WHAT THE TORIES UNDER DAVID GAUKE AT THE TIME DID, WAS TO ‘ALLOW’ CLAIMANTS TO GET A LOAN TO PAY OFF WITHIN 12 MONTHS, AFTER HAVING PUT THEM INTO DEBT IN THE FIRST PLACE BY DELAYING PAYMENTS BY 5 WEEKS. GOVERNMENT-INSPIRED DEBT! MAY THINKS THIS SORTED OUT THE PROBLEM!?! NATIONALISED CAPITALISM? STINKY POLITICS!

Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)

Waiting times for personal independence payment tribunals in Wales have quadrupled over the past four years. My constituent, Alan McKittrick, is suffering from prostate cancer, angina, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis, hernias, mental ill health, dizziness, blackouts and ulcers, yet his initial PIP claim was refused. He then waited 56 weeks for an appeal, which he won. Will the Prime Minister apologise to Alan, and when will she end this hostile environment towards sick and disabled people?

The Prime Minister

“Obviously, Members across this House raise issues about the PIP process, and the Department for Work and Pensions is consistently looking at the whole PIP process. One of the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised in his question was the health of the individual concerned. As he sits for a Welsh constituency, I would have thought that, if he wants to talk about health, he should talk to the Labour Government in Wales”.

INSTEAD OF RECOGNISING AN EXTREMELY ILL MAN HAD TO ENDURE LACK OF HIS RIGHTFUL MONIES FOR 56 WEEKS, MAY THINKS SHE CAN POINT SCORE ABOUT WELSH ASSEMBLEY WHO DEAL WITH THE NHS, BUT PIP IS A DWP ISSUE NOT NHS!! HEARTLESS & BRAINLESS!

The Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group support Unite Community’s Day of Action to Stop Universal Credit  & we back Disabled People Against Cuts who say SCRAP Universal Credit. It’s designed to ‘keep claimants on the books” so they can be hounded off the books. A Virtual Permanent Abuse System!

Workers & Claimants know the score. Unite & Fight the REAL Scroungers. Cabinet &  DWP Top Brass!

Money Saving Expert forum posting warning against 'The People's Postcode Lottery'

As I have seen adverts for 'The People's Postcode Lottery' frequently and wondered who owns it, I just did an Internet search on the matter. So far I've not discovered the answer to theat question, but a Money Saving Expert (MSE) posting about 'People's Postcode Lottery' caught my eye that I believe relevant to this blog and its audience when all the Jobcentre-recommended or directed 'options' turn out to be cues to try anything else.

You can find that  MSE posting at Beware - People's Postcode Lottery!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3797123

Yes, I know that Jobcentre Plus slogan 'The Help You Need, When You Need It' is a big con, but there are many more cons out there that are television advertised ad nauseum, if you'll pardon the the accidental pun! And it seems, from one of those responses, that while Advertising Standards Authority may seem like a 'toothless tiger' when it comes to banning dodgy adverts, it can be worth placing "asa" in front of any television advertised product or service you are investigating, as Thomas Heald points out.

Posted by Dude Swheatie of Kwug

PROTEST AT DWP HQ FRI 4/5/18 NOON-1PM

THE KILBURN UNEMPLOYED WORKERS GROUP WITH UNITE COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS WILL BE PROTESTING AND LEAFLETING OUTSIDE THE DWP H.Q. CAXTON HOUSE,TOTHILL STREET, SW1H 9NA FRIDAY 4TH MAY 2018 NOON-1PM

AGAINST UNIVERSAL CREDIT AND OTHER DWP SCAMS SIMILAR IN ROTTENESS TO THE 'WINDRUSH SCANDAL'. LEAFLET WRITTEN BEFORE AMBER RUDD'S RESIGNATION-HOPING FOR MCVEY & MAY'S SOON. THEY STILL BELIEVE THAT WITH-HOLDING MONIES FOR FOOD & RENT IS ACCEPTABLE! SAVAGES!!

HOSTILE BRITAIN

‘Great’ Britain-Run by Lazy-Minded Psychopaths, for Lazy-Rich Psychopaths!

The absolutely Rotten policies of The “Nasty” Party (Tories) following on from New Labour Right-Wing policies, has caused misery to The Windrush Generation, and to Claimants seeking Rightful Benefits. Who, has been sanctioned, or kicked off ESA and PIP, feels surprised that callous bureaucrats have been demoralised to such an extent, that they push through inhumane treatment of human beings? We would imagine no-one, although still able to be shocked at how unreasonable officials can really be, when the spotlight of publicity shines upon them! The fact that Legal Aid and Welfare Advice Centres, have had their grants cut, seems to be another contributory factor in these cases, so that JUSTICE is seen NOT to be done. Of course this Tory Government, will (we hope) pay out compensation to damaged people, but ultimately Tories who don’t like State intervention, will not be paying out themselves, in their typically unaccountable fashion.

There were warnings that Thuggish Immigration policies would harm, but these warnings just fell on deaf-like ears, as Ideology came first, just like with Austerity, and the clamour to Scrap Universal Credit. Seems obvious that the DWP/Home Office ‘thinking’ is people  “slipping through the net” is to be a fact of life, an actual ‘unintended’ consequence, if we want to rid ourselves of “Scroungers” –“Illegal Immigrants”- the “Non-deserving.”

The DWP - The Home Office, and The Ministry of Justice are “Unfit-for-purpose” because they have been deliberately made so. To those affected by these “Great” Departments, look at them in the same way The “Stasi”  became a hated institution, and we are all sure that one day the truth will out. Workers in these institutions, with their unions, should band together with the people who suffer from outrageous decisions, and refuse to implement such Draconian policies-Social Cleansing is NOT in an official’s remit.

“The former head of the civil service, Lord Kerslake, said that some ministers were "deeply unhappy" about the introduction of the "hostile environment" strategy under then Home Secretary Theresa May.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Lord Kerslake, said some saw the policy, which has come under the spotlight during the Windrush row, "as almost reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the way it's working"”

FROM: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-43818762/windrush-lord-kerslake-says-policy-reminiscent-of-nazi-germany

When Tories are worried, so should we! Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group worry & act!

SCRAP UNIVERSAL CREDIT AND SHAMEFUL IMMIGRATION POLICIES!!

Brexit as a lever for further Tory attacks on our rights

A KUWG member has asked me to publish the below as a blog post after I had e-mailed it to him as an update on the Green Party's response to Labour's 2008 'welfare reform green paper'.

 

I suspect that the Tories are seeing Brexit as an opportunity to further attack disabled and other people's rights by rewriting our laws. The EU has a Working Time Directive that limits the hours that Brits have to work, for example. http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/?s=Working+time+directive&x=0&y=0

Remember Jeremy Hunt as Health Secretary saying that Britons should learn to work "more like the Chinese"? https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/05/hunt-tax-credit-cuts-make-britons-work-like-chinese-or-americans

The Chinese 'guolaosi' would think differently, no doubt. As Johann Hari reported in the Independent in 2010:

"Deaths from overwork are so common in Chinese factories that they have a word for it: guolaosi. China Daily estimates that 600,000 people are killed this way every year, mostly making goods for us. Li had never experienced any health problems, his family says, until he started this work schedule; Foxconn say he died of asthma and his death had nothing to do with them. The night Li died, yet another Foxconn worker committed suicide – the tenth this year."
Souce: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-and-now-for-some-good-news-2044578.html

There is also this involving the Justice Minister

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/minister-suggests-realities-of-the-world-mean-government-will-not-halt-attack-on-rights/

It fits in with Naomi Klein's concept of 'disaster capitalism' as turning catastrophes into opportunities for more of Milton Friedman's

"holy trinity" -- privatization, deregulation and cuts to social spending -- in which governments dismantle trade barriers, abandon public ownership, reduce taxes, eliminate the minimum wage, cut health and welfare spending, and privatize education. She calls the means of achieving this goal "disaster capitalism" and describes how it has resulted in a worldwide redistribution of income and wealth to the already rich at the expense of economic solvency for the middle and lower classes.

Source: http://www.naomiklein.org/reviews/ms-magazine-review-shock-doctrine

As was merely touched upon in Writing off Workfare by Anne Gray and myself in 2008, UK 'welfare reforms' since the time Peter Lilley was the responsible government minister/secretary of state have been strongly influenced by dodgy American health insurance giant Unum who regard the UK as a 'potential market'. Medically retired RAF veteran and health care professional Mo Stewart has elaborated much of this with documentation.

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/disabled-researchers-book-exposes-corporate-demolition-of-welfare-state/

Fundamental to the way the UN Disability Committee regards disability is the Social Model of Disability. http://www.mdpi.com/2075-471X/5/3/35
The Social Model of Disability focuses on physical, economic and social barriers to the inclusion of people with impairments that makes us disabled. That perspective is fundamental to Green Party of England & Wales policy on disability. https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/dy.html

Unum's model is called the 'bio-psychosocial model' and is fundamental to the Health & Work Programme and its 'psycho-coercion'. Useful links on this include:

• https://dpac.uk.net/2012/04/a-tale-of-two-models-disabled-people-vs-unum-atos-government-and-disability-charities-debbie-jolly/
• https://scottishunemployedworkers.net/2016/07/11/psychocoercion-and-unemployment-a-marriage-made-in-austeritys-hell/
• https://scottishunemployedworkers.net/2016/06/22/psycho-coercion-and-workfare-fighting-back/
• http://www.unum.co.uk/media/unum-and-professor-dame-carol-black-launch-new-essay-collection-on-work-and-health
• https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/?s=human+catastrophe
• https://kittysjones.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/amnesty-international-express-grave-concerns-about-uk-governments-outsourced-back-to-work-therapy/
• https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/charities-delivering-dwps-work-programme-must-promise-not-to-attack-mcvey/

Unum is not the only global company involved in UK 'welfare reforms'. The principal contractor for the 'Universal Credit' IT deal is Accenture. The subcontractor for the forms used for online application for UC is Atos!
http://www.information-age.com/dwp-awards-accenture-500m-universal-credit-it-deal-1666348/

Accenture, incidentally, is now providing much of the reporting for centre-right think tank Reform.uk in its promotion of 'digital jobcentres' and more, much more.

"... The future of public services: digital jobcentres, sets out the opportunity to transform public employment services in the UK. This paper is the fourth in a series, conducted in partnership with Accenture, which looks at the role technology will play in the future delivery of public services. "Jobcentre Plus – the UK’s public employment service – won plaudits for its performance over the financial crisis, but the story may be different if Brexit triggers an economic slowdown. The introduction of in-work services under Universal Credit will increase demand, while the Work and Health Programme will require jobcentres to take a more central role in the delivery of disability employment support services."
Source: http://www.reform.uk/publication/the-future-of-public-services-digital-jobcentres/

What were the sources of those 'plaudits' that "Jobcentre Plus — the UK's public employment service — won ... for its performance over the financial crisis"? One of those sources, as I recall, was David Cameron and I think the other was the National Audit Office. You can find out for yourself at http://www.reform.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/The-future-of-public-services-digital-jobcentres.pdf

and remember that Reform.uk is a registered charity. See also https://www.google.com/search?q=nao+dwp

Had they spoken to the people that blogger Kate Belgrave talks to in her 'Talking with people dealing with public sector cuts' blog, no doubt they would have got a different story regarding how well the Department for Work & Pensions has performed.  https://www.katebelgrave.com/?s=dwp&submit=Search and https://www.katebelgrave.com/?s=dwp+foi&submit=Search

Alan WheatleyCo-author of 'Writing off Workfare', writing in a personal capacity

is there anybody there to talk to us?

KUWG are protesting Tuesday 6^th February 2018 2pm-2.30pm Outside DWP HQ Caxton House, 12 Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA   to ‘welcome’ Esther McVey as the new boss, with then a coffee-break and walk to the Ministry of (In)Justice, for 3pm-3.30pm,102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ to say “Hi” to ex-DWP boss David Gauke, Lest he forgets us (St James’ Park Tube Station is between them both & both near Westminster Tube)

As The Who sang: “Meet the new boss...same as the old boss”

Benefit exam exemptions: a briefing paper by Winvisible for caring professionals

Women with visible and invisible disabilities — aka Winvisible — write:

Dear all,

Here is our latest leaflet directed at GPs and others about exemption from
the ESA and PIP exams.

https://winvisibleblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/benefit-exam-exemptions-briefing-for-professionals/
 
Happy Christmas!