London: N9/N30 solidarity Network meeting has been called for Weds Oct 26, 7 pm, Malet suite, ULU, Malet St. All welcome #n30 #n9
http://twitter.com/#!/N30Strike
n9 /n30
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next meeting Wednesday 19th at 9.00pm , central London. (tomorrow), please email artsagainstcuts@gmail.com for details.
TUESDAY 18th OCTOBER
IMT Gallery, 20 Projects and the Slade present…
It Started With A Car Crash: Alternative Educational Road Tour
At the Slade Research Centre, Woburn Square, WC1H 0AB
2pm-8pm
Free Event
The Bruce High Quality Foundation in Conversation with UK groups and collectives. Part of the exhibition Epilogues: It Started With A Car Crash at IMT Gallery curated by Charles Danby.
Free entry but places are limited. Please email roadtrip@20projects.co.uk to reserve a place.
Inspiring and enabling arts students to define the future of their own educational experience…
It Started With A Car Crash: Alternative Educational Road Tour seeks to open up a debate around alternative networks of education and artwork dissemination. The Bruce High Quality Foundation set up their own university in 2009 and in 2011 they embarked on a coast-to-coast road trip of America visiting educational institutions, project spaces, groups and individuals, documented in their work Teach 4 Amerika*. This is presented through an event in which the Bruce High Quality Foundation will be joined by UK based groups and collectives to share ideas on arts education.
The Bruce High Quality Foundation / The Free School / Arts Against Cuts / The Kurt Schwitters DIY School / David Burrows / This Is Not A School / The New International School | Ladies of the Press | Pigeon Magazine
The event will be live-pressed by The Ladies of the Press with edited material being added to the publication It Started With A Car Crash.
The Slade School of Fine Art
Slade Research Centre
Woburn Square
London WC1H 0AB
Towns and cities around the UK will see protests tomorrow (30th September) against Atos, the IT Company responsible for carrying out the con-dem government’s Work Capability Assessment. As part of a National Day of Action Against Atos, organised by disability, claimant and anti-cuts activists, people will be gathering outside Atos’ offices in Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Brighton, Chatham, Cheshire, Birmingham, Glasgow, Hasting, Norwich, Oxford, Bristol, Chester, Plymouth, Sheffield and York.
In London a demonstration is being held outside the BMJ Careers Fair where Atos will be exhibiting in an attempt to recruit doctors to work on their Disability Assessment teams. Thousands of people have been denied or stripped of vital benefit because of decisions made based on Atos’ assessment procedure which involves a short interview and a computer based test. Many people have had conditions worsened, either by being forced into the workplace, having much needed money withdrawn or the stress of the assessment process, which has been described as relentless. Sadly some have taken their own lives after hearing of Atos and the DWP’s decisions to remove their benefits. Even people with cancer and other terminal illnesses have been deemed ‘fit for work’. The government has pledged that this form of testing will be extended to all disability and health related benefits.
This week over one hundred groups and individuals signed a letter to the BMJ and the RCN urging them to stop allowing Atos to recruit at their events and in their publications: http://benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/open-letter-on-atos-healthcare-to-the-bmj-and-rcn/
An online protest will see companies and organisations which do business with Atos contacted and informed of this company’s ‘callous and cruel’ treatment of disabled and sick people.
Supporters of Disabled People Against Cuts have said that “As long as ATOS continues to treat disabled claimants little better than animals they will continue to protest against them and seek means to discredit them.”
ENDS
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The Day of Action has been called by a range of different groups and organisations throughout the UK. For the full list of supporting organisations and further details of all protests please visit the website at: http://benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/
Contact details of some of the paticipating groups are as follows:
· Benefit Claimants Fightback: notowelfarecuts@yahoo.co.uk
· Black Triangle: info@blacktrianglecampaign.org Scotland contact: 07778 316875
· Defend Welfare network
· Disabled People Against Cuts: mail@dpac.uk.net contact:07714 927533
· WinVisible (women with visible and invisible disabilities): win@winvisible.org Tel: 020 7482 2496.
Atos Healthcare is part of Atos, the French multinational IT company which operates in 42 countries and which has the IT contract for the Olympic Games.
The National Day of Action Against Atos is the sixth National Day of Protest targeting benefit cuts, which has seen a diverse network of claimant, disability and anti-cuts groups and individuals taking action in every major city in the UK. As well as protests outside Atos offices, demonstrations have been held outside jobcentres, workfare
provider’s offices, the Daily Mail for witch-hunting benefit “scroungers” and Westminster Council over the ban on soup runs.
Monday, Sep 26th – 7pm
no.w.here
First Floor, 316-318 Bethnal Green Road
London
E2 OAG
no.w.here
First Floor, 316-318 Bethnal Green Road
London
E2 OAG
In less than a year, the people in the UK have spoken twice. First, there was the winter of discontent of the student protests, which saw an upsurge in and political activity that had not been seen for quite some time. If that movement did not succeed in its stated aims — stopping the coalition’s ‘reform’ of higher education –, the energy and desires that were mobilised then are still around. What to do with them? Then, there was the summer of rioting, the conservative backlash against which has not been matched by any substantial response from the left. How to react to them, not morally or in abstract terms, but politically? How to bridge the gap between these two moments? Is it possible to bring winter and summer together?
The people have spoken will be an informal evening of screenings and debate around these questions. We invite you to come with suggestions of film clips that can help illuminate the different aspects of the problems, and with the disposition to think collectively about collective ways of intervening in what is happening in the UK now.
If the people have already spoken, the task is now to find out what they’ve said, give it a voice, and make it loud.
The government is just weeks away from destroying the NHS forever. This is an emergency. On Sunday October 9th, join UK Uncut on Westminster Bridge and help block the bill.
Free coaches available! See here for more information
Posters/flyers available here
Call a Lib Dem/Crossbench Lord and explain how you’re willing to Block the Bridge to save the NHS!
On one side of Westminster Bridge is Parliament. On 7th September, MPs in the Commons voted for the end of the NHS as we know it. Yet the coalition’s Health and Social Care bill was not in the Lib Dem manifesto. It was not in the Tory manifesto. None of us voted for this.
On the opposite side of the bridge is St Thomas’ Hospital, one of Britain’s oldest medical institutions. If the bill passes, hospitals like St Thomas’ will be sold to private corporations, the staff put on private payrolls and beds given over to private patients. Despite the government’s lies, this bill represents the wholesale privatization of the NHS and, with it, the destruction of the dream of comprehensive healthcare provided equally to all.
On October 12th, the Lords have a chance to vote down the bill, and a huge Liberal Democrat rebellion is brewing. We have one last chance to save our NHS.
On Sunday 9th October, just three days before the Lords vote, join UK Uncut in a spectacular act of mass civil disobedience to block the bill. By blocking Westminster Bridge we symbolically block the bill from getting from Parliament to our hospitals. Yes, it will be disruptive. Yes, it will stop the traffic. But this is an emergency and we have to shout as loud as we can.
Get to the middle of Westminster Bridge shortly before 1pm. When Big Ben strikes one, pick one of the tactics below and help block the bridge:
- Bring some fake blood and play dead
- Bring hospital radio to the bridge with some music and comedy
- Bring a nurse for a resuscitation skill-share
- Dress up in scrubs and perform an operation
- Enjoy a picnic overlooking Parliament
- Share stories about the the NHS
- Invite a friend from across the pond to describe the reality of a privatised healthcare system
- Invite older generations to describe a time before universal healthcare
- (if you’ve got other good ideas, email them to ukuncut@gmail.com)
Invite everyone you know to the Facebook event, and make sure you click ‘attending’ – the action will only go ahead if 1000 or more people plan to attend. We’ll be in close contact with St. Thomas’ before and during the protest to ensure access for emergency vehicles.
A Design Brief for Boycott Workfare.
The Brief:
To design and create imagery/poster art as part of a wider campaign, which
questions the logic of both the governments’ ideology and economic strategy
– i.e. cuts and the idea of people having to work for nothing, on workfare
schemes and the wider contradiction of this policy. If a company can get free
unpaid labour, then why employ a paid member of staff? But if people are
not being paid wages then how can they spend money to help the economy
recover? Graduates will find themselves fast tracked onto workfare (being
under 25), and instead of being paid to be creative, you will be forced to
use your creativity for free. If your lucky. You could be forced to work 9-5 in
Primark for no wages.
This design brief is part of a wider multi-media campaign aims to draw
attention to:
The impact of the life chances of graduates and young people
The injustice of people having to undertake workfare
Companies and charities making millions from, and implementing workfare.
Peoples paid jobs being replaced by unpaid forced labour ‘volunteers’
The fact that workfare will replace paid jobs
That workfare will undermine people’s wages and standard of living.
So perhaps it might be an idea to create images which are not too detailed,
and which in terms of design incorporate (where applicable/possible in
relation to the concept)
-Clear imagery
-Clear lettering
It would also be great if someone could knock up some fake adverts, which
incorporate the logo and colour schemes of the companies and the charities
involved in workfare. (See appendix)
Generic re-usable designs, into which a variety of different slogans could be
inserted, would also be cool.
Size: A2, A3, A4 & A5 (Each size has specific purpose and use in mind, e.g.
larger posters can be placed upon placards. There is a special plan for the A4
posters…..
Feel free to come up with express yourself the imagery doesn’t need slogans
Examples of actual slogans for use, and concepts with which to base a design
around, are as follows:
Beware Workfare
Workfare: making you unemployed
No pay? That’ll be workfare.
Workfare: Making bankers millions.
Oxfam: Profiting from workfare
A4E: Profiting from poverty
Workfare.Taking away your job soon.
Workfare. Taking away paid jobs.
I don’t need to hire staff thanks to workfare.
Is a volunteer taking your paid job?
I get staff free thanks to workfare.
I don’t pay wages thanks to workfare.
Low pay? That’ll be the workfare
Workfare. Taking your job soon.
Workfare doesn’t work and isn’t fair
Workfare: Forcing wages down.
Paid staff? Not anymore, I use workfare
Paid staff? Why Bother? I use workfare
Are you about to be replaced by someone on workfare?
Is your low pay becoming no pay? That’ll be workfare.
Paid staff? Don’t make me laugh! I get workers free thanks to welfare!
Feeling the squeeze? That’ll be the workfare
Workfare: replacing you with forced labour.
ATOS: Getting away with murder.
A4e: We’ll kick you when your down
Lost your job? Don’t worry, you will have to do it for free on workfare!
Unemployed? Don’t worry you’ll soon be working for free thanks to workfare
Would you work for your boss for free? Thought not. Beware workfare.
Redundant? Your’ve just lost your job to workfare.
Lost your job? You will work for free thanks to workfare.
Ive just sacked John. He’ll be back doing his job for free thanks to workfare.
Ive just sacked Kelly. She’ll be back doing her job for free thanks to workfare.
Why hire staff, when you can get free staff from workfare?
Do you like the idea of 9-5, 24/7 for no pay? Thought not. But that’s workfare.
He’ll be back doing his job for free thanks to workfare.
Fired? You’ll be back working for free thanks to workfare.
Would you work for free? Neither would we.
Workfare slavery: Coming to a workplace near you…
Unpaid staff: Coming to a workplace near you
Unpaid staff: coming to your workplace soon…
Graduated? No job? In debt? Don’t worry you’ll have to work for free thanks to
workfare
.
Are you a psychopath? Do you enjoy hurting people? Then join A4e!
please email designs to artsagainstcuts@gmail.com
URGENT APPEAL FOR ACTION NOW!
After an incredibly constructive debate yesterday in the House Of Lords the government appear to be concerned about how many Lords had significant concerns about the Welfare Reform Bill, even those Lords who in principle supported the bill had major questions they wanted answers to.
For a bill of this size and importance, convention dictates that the next stage of the bill should be kept in the main chamber of the House of Lords for debate. It’s particularly important the bill be continued to be debated in the main chamber as disability access to the smaller committee rooms is very limited and people will not be able to access the committee rooms to exercise their democratic right to observe the passge of the bill from the public chamber.
At 3.30pm today the govermnent are tabling a motion to move the grand committee stage of the bill into one of the smaller committee rooms. Presumably the government are hoping that by moving a bill into the committee rooms it will be harder to scrutinise – there won’t be enough space in any of the committee rooms to allow for all the Lords to participate, let alone for us to scrutinise online or attend in person.
This is an outrage – the government are clearly concerned by the level of queries and opposition to the Welfare Reform Bill highlighted by yesterday’s debate and wish to quietly sideline it to a committee room where they hope it will pass with less opposition. Tabling the motion for the afternoon following PMQ’s is also an underhand trick as it means it will be harder for us to object through the main stream media.
This is our call to arms. This bill affects us, our families and every aspect of our lives, as well as the lives of those currently paying into the system in anticipation of protection should they require it. If we can make enough noise in the next few hours the government will be forced to keep the passage of the bill in the main chamber of the house of lords where it can be effectively and appropriately scrutinised by all.
What you can do to help is this;
Please post copies of this blog onto your facebook, your twitter, stumbleupon, wikio etc. Please email it to everyone you know, please talk about this on your own blogs. Email or phone your MP to register your objections, email or phone the house of lords to explain your concerns, email or phone the media, local or national and explain that whether or not people are in favour of this bill, that it is a fundamental democratic right to have it debated in the main chamber of the house of lords where there is space for all who wish to attend and observe. Highlight the injustice and hypocrisy of the governments behaviour in trying to sideline this important bill into a room too small for all the Lords to attend and certainly too small to allow those in wheelchairs, or with guide dogs, the very people most affected by this bill to be able to observe from the public gallery.
If we make enough noise before 3.30pm today the government will have to drop this underhand tactic and the Bill will continue to be debated in the main chamber of the House of Lords where everyone who wishes to can attend and observe.
artsagainstcuts 