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Home
| 11th October
1996 | Issue
94 SchNEWS JSA STARTS * HOUSING BENEFIT CUT * WORKFARE EXPANDEDWELCOME TO THE CLAMPDOWN"Workfare provides
the right to work, and takes away the right to shirk." The latest attack on the poor, unemployed and homeless, funnily enough, coincided with the Tory Party conference. The bigots gathered in Bournemouth to cheer and toast champagne to the latest attacks on the worst off people in the land as the Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), cuts in Housing Benefits to under 25s and the expansion of workfare schemes were introduced. Labour wished they'd thought it all up themselves. And across the country claimants, activists and strikers gave a big 'up yours' to the lot of them with actions, occupations and strikes against the latest stage in the destruction of what's left of the welfare state. Claimants in Brighton stomped around three dole offices, shutting them down and occupying one before meeting at the Benefits Agency for an impromptu piece of theatre. In Edinburgh, postal workers joined with claimants, drummers and giant puppets to leaflet strikers from the Benefits Agency. Other actions took place in London, Glasgow and Dundee. In Newcastle 30 people marched to the local jobcentre to find it surrounded by police who had been there since seven in the morning. The JSA will mean thousands being refused any benefits at all in the near future, with harassment of the take-this-£3-an-hour-job-or-fuck-off type becoming the norm for claimants. Monday's Housing Benefit cuts for under 25s will slash rent payments to the cost of a bedsit in a shared house. Already one in 10 people between 16 and 25 are either homeless or are in imminent need of housing. This will now get worse as young people find themselves unable to find places they can afford and are forced onto the streets. Still, it means more teenagers forced into prostitution - no doubt quite a bonus for a lot of sleazy MPs. Workfare involves thirteen weeks of voluntary work and jobsearch, followed by another thirteen weeks compulsory work (slave labour for profiteering bosses) with loss of benefits if you refuse. Two pilot schemes have been up and running for a year involving some 8,000 people. They have cost the Treasury over £12m - a snip at £1,500 per person! Another £70 million has been earmarked for new pilots. Only 10% of those who have been on the schemes so far have found work. Value for money? All this is nothing new. In the 1930s 120,000 unemployed men were forced into 'Reconditioning centres' where they were only allowed to keep a small portion of their benefit as the rest went to pay the cost of their board and lodging! The Labour Party and TUC agreed with the Tories that men refusing to attend these camps should get their benefits stopped. 'Domestic Training Centres' were set up for women to teach them 'housewifery, laundry and needlework'. There is £600 billion circulating in the Great British Economy. SchNEWS asks: couldn't some of this cash be used to pay decent benefits? It's all a question of priorities. Fat pay increases for MPs, £33 billion on Trident, tax cuts for the well off - or cutting growing homelessness and stopping the number of children growing up in poverty skyrocketing. For our politicians that isn't a choice, it's an opportunity to order more champers. * One piece of good news though. The government got a good kick in the bollocks on Tuesday when Michael Howard was up in court again to be told he could not leave 10,000 asylum seekers destitute on the streets of Britain. The judge said that he found it impossible to think that in passing the Asylum Act Parliament intended that individuals "should be left destitute, starving and at risk of grave illness and even death." Yeah, right. Unfortunately, yet again the case ended with Howard still at large in society.
Crap EvictionOn Wednesday morning the Dark Forces moved on the Freedom Trail at Fairmile, a visiting band of people with hand and horse drawn carts. Police presence was a tad excessive: it took 100 of them to move on twelve people with their assorted donkeys, goats and children. * The three camps at Fairmile are on Red Alert, expecting eviction as early as Monday, following High Court action. So be alert! Take warm waterproof clothing, torches and candles, food and water. 01404 815729 for details. OAKS RULE!Pressmennan Oakwood North, a 13,000 year old wood in a secluded valley of East Lothian, is under attack by a timber company who want to use the wood as profitable veneer. The company, AJ Scott, plan to fell 369 oak trees - ten acres of prime woodland - and export the wood to Germany. A spokesperson for Woodland Awareness and Network of Defence (WAND), who are fighting the plans, told SchNEWS, "The wood will be used to adorn the dashboards of expensive BMWs and Mercedes." Despite the Council passing a tree preservation order on the wood, pressure from the land owner, his £1,000 (!) an hour barrister and the Forestry Commission could force the Council to drop the order. The friends of Pressmennan are campaigning against the proposal, saying they "will no longer accept being fobbed off by the money men. This is a battle that can and will be won." Once upon a time, cutting down oaks was an offence punishable by death. The offender was tied to a tree by their own attached innards, after being split open down the stomach. Perhaps we could make a suggestion... Protesters are gathering at the site this weekend. Urgent support needed to swell numbers. Info: Jeff 0131 228 2193 / Marina 01368 850630.
GYPSYVILLEA council housing estate in Hull is under threat of demolition to make way for privately owned houses. Work has already started, and four houses are being gutted. Eviction and demolition is imminent. The residents are eager for any help/direct action; they realise they have been completely disempowered. The Lord Mayor - who incidentally passed the planning application - is coincidentally the chair on some of the housing associations that are due to build on the land. Get involved: contact Mrs Crawford on 01482 501572 or Barbara Foster on 01482 573254. SORTED ITINERANTS21 French homeless people are suing the city of Nice for violation of their rights since begging was banned in June. Over 800 sorted itinerants were rounded up by police and driven 10 miles out of town to a municipal hostel, where they were questioned before release. Begging bans have also been placed in Cannes, Menton, La Rochelle, Pau and Carcassone, and stray and unmuzzled dogs have been banned in a bid to 'tidy up' the streets for the benefit of tourists. SchNEWS IN BRIEF*** Four young Indian men died after running 5 miles in temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees Centigrade... in their quest to become coppers. The 10,000 applicants were whittled down to 450 who were told to complete the physical test in Orissa, as part of their application procedure. *** Queen Victoria's statue in Hong Kong was given a make over last week with a hammer and two tins of red paint, by 27 year old Poon Fing-lui in a political gesture to China. *** Last week, an international tramps and travellers conference was held in Argentina. Delegates from Europe, Canada and South America turned up. The weeks events included a non-competitive hike, where participants struggled to walk no faster than anyone else! *** Simon Sunderland, the Sheffield graffiti artist jailed for five years in March (see SchNEWS 65) had his appeal heard last week in London...and is now a free man! Nice one! *** Check that Chemical Brothers video! *** RTS will be reclaiming a street in Manchester on Sat 19th Oct. Meet 1pm Albert Square. 0161 226 9904 *** 15th Annual Anarchist Book Fair, Sat Oct 19th, 10am-8pm, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London (nearest Tube Holborn) *** SchNEWSnight premieres a week Saturday (Oct 19) 7:00 at the Sanctuary in Brighton. £1.50 before 8:30, £2 after. *** GOOD READ GUIDE: Check out Green World, the Green Party's mag. Ring 01252 330506 for a copy *** October 16th is World Anti-McDonald's day 0171 713 1269 *** Could Mr Andy Watt please contact the office? 685 913 *** Help Justice? celebrate SchNEWS' 100th anniversary - the conference (Nov. 23rd) and the party at the Paradox the day after. For more info phone Justice? *** Glastonbury is back next year, with 20,000 more capacity for festie goers but with reduced car parking space and probably increased prices. *** An evening in support of prisoners' rights on Fri 18 Oct at Bridewell Hall, St. Bride Foundation Institute, Bride Lane, London. Speakers (including a Justice? bod) and free glass of wine £6/£2. See ya there! *** Brighton Legal Defence and Monitoring Group have published a report 'Cause for Concern' [koko link] on the policing of August's Brighton RTS. Get a copy of the report from BLDMG c/o 6 Tilbury Place, Brighton BN2 2GY for £1 or from Brighton Peace & Environment Centre. *** An Aberdonian Labour activist of 25 years turned eco-activist was followed from his RTS-related court hearing in Brighton as far as York railway station by unsubtle goons with radios! *** Tarmac have a new Freepost address. Send them your heavy-weight thoughts at Tarmac, Freepost WV2170, Wolverhampton, WV11 1BR. BRISTOL'S GOOSE COOKED WITH MUSTARD Last week's chemical spill at the Alcock & Bright factory at Avonmouth, Bristol sent a huge dense, black cloud into the air, and the wind took it off to the Forest of Dean. People were told not to go outdoors and windows were shut for a period. Not that this makes any real difference to terms of health. The two substances which leaked from the factory were in separation not too deadly, but combined they make Phosgene. This is better known as Mustard Gas and was used during World War One to kill people. Alcock & Bright's Rockingham plant number is 0117 9420162. Those who 'enjoyed' our Special Report on chemical contamination and dioxin will be enthralled by the new issue of ToxCat, published by Communities Against Toxics. Priced £2, and available from CATS PO Box 29, Ellesmere Port, South Wirral, L66 3TX. 0151 339 5473. They have also produced a new Toxic Briefing on Chernobyl and lying, dangerous bastards such as Sir Bernard Ingham who are trying to bury the truth of what happened there. and finally Look, will people please stop sending us letters suggesting dodgy activities? Those 'operation no-grass' people have sent us another letter suggesting you go to a public phone, preferably a little used one, and dial the freephone number (for instance 0800 854440 is the number for the benefit fraud hotline). When you get through you say "Hang on! I've just dropped my pen/purse/baby/etc". You then leave the phone off the hook and walk away. It's just this sort of irresponsible, juvenile and, frankly, sick sort of behaviour that creates problems for everyone. Don't these people realise that the more they piss off politicians with sabotage, actions, strikes and 'reclaiming' everything in sight the more cops get employed, the more prisons get built and the more work is created for over-worked SchNEWS writers having to tell you all about it! We're only human you know. Does nobody give a damn? Does nobody care? disclaimer The SchNEWS advises all readers not to be black, not to be poor, not to be sick, not to be hungry and not to be under 25. Never stray from being white, middle class and male. Do not expect a free lunch, or even one which you have spent years paying for in taxation. Believe that life is about doing it to them before they do it you. Then you will feel content. Honest.
Subscribe! Keep SchNEWS FREE! Just send 1st Class stamps (eg 20 for next 20 issues) or donations (payable to Justice?) Mark Original if you plan to copy: SchNEWS is post free to prisoners. SchNEWS c/o on-the-fiddle P0 Box 2600 Brighton East Sussex BN2 2DX Tel/fax: (01273) 685913 e-mail: src022@abdn.ac.uk e-SchNEWS: http://www.cbuzz.co.uk Next Justice? meeting 7:30 pm Oct 15 Unemployed Centre Tilbury Pl. JSA and Direct Action Conference Congrats John and Sarah! The little girl finally arrived
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