Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 08:22:07 +1000
Subject: (en) GROUNDSWELL CONFERENCE: HARINGEY


Subject: (en) GROUNDSWELL CONFERENCE: HARINGEY
From: <lingvoj-AT-lds.co.uk>
Reply-To: <a-infos-d-AT-tao.ca>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 20.41 GMT


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FREEDOM PRESS INTERNATIONAL
84b, Whitechapel High St.,
London E1 7QX UK
(sample edition of FREEDOM on request from London)
----------------------------------
(all extracts from FREEDOM on this list
are from the current edition unless otherwise
stated)

GROUNDSWELL CONFERENCE: HARINGEY

BURGER KING BLACKBALLED
At this, perhaps the biggest Groundswell Conference, war was
declared by jobless claimants on Burger King and its parent
company Grand Metropolitan Trust. This company is the only
national body as yet identified as being implicated in the slave
labour trade Project Work - in Hull and Kent.
  Burger King has been involved in some scandalous work practices
and cheap labour scams like time-limited contracts. Grand Met is a
multinational which owns J&B Scotch, Smirnoff, Pilsbury Cookies,
H"aagen Dazs, Cinzano, Baileys, Malibu, as well as hotels and the
burger chain.
  Grand Met has long been known for its activities in so-called
training for the unemployed, and Restart courses.
  The Groundswell Conference decided on a local day of action
against Project Work on 27th February, the coming launch date for
the extension of Project Work to 29 towns throughout Britain.  After
Easter Groundswell plans a national campaign against Grand Met
and Burger King as Project Work providers.

THE RELUCTANT 'VOLUNTEERS'

About half the proposed Project Work towns will start their schemes
this month. The other half will kick-off in May, declared Oxford
Groundswell (see list).
  Apart from Grand Met, Edinburgh Claimant's Group claimed the
other culprits in the Project Work provider racket include: Instant
Muscle, The Training Network, Career Ahead, and East Yorkshire
County Council who have been paying the jobless fl0 plus benefits
to paint the railings on the seafront at an East Coast seaside resort
(see address list).
  ln New York, where these types of schemes have been introduced
already, subway workers were sacked and replaced by dole
conscripts. This has happened here with young workers on YTS.
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  The Edinburgh Claimants argues: "Project Work is to be forced on
everyone unemployed for over two years. All such claimants will be
made to do thirteen weeks compulsory work for benefits plus =A310.
Unemployed people who refuse to attend or leave early will lose
benefit."
  The Project Work pilot schemes in Medway, Kent, and on
Humberside have met with mass opposition. The local councils and
most charities have boycotted the scheme. Karen Spooner, chair of
Humberside Voluntary Sector Alliance, says: "We didn't think it was
appropriate to offer placements, particularly in care work, to people
who were compelled to be there under threat of losing their benefit".
Similar noises are coming from the Voluntary Sector in Scotland.

LOOMING THREAT

Some sixteen groups from across the country turned up for the
conference. The London Dockers Support Group sent a speaker
and the conference was addressed by a group of London textile
workers in Tottenham who are occupying their factory.
  The 'Three Strikes' strategy was discussed, together with
'Sanctions Busting' and the Attitude of the civil service unions.
Nationally it was claimed union resistance had been poor. The
members of the civil service unions were implementing both the
Job Seeker's Act and Project Work. Some union bosses seemed to
be threatening unemployed activists.
  The leaks from rank and file dole workers about Employment
Service conduct on JSA and Project Work to Groundswell and the
anarchist press was welcomed.
  Edinburgh reported that they were issuing a 'third strike' exposing
a claimant adviser in their area.
  Oxford claimed they had reversed fifteen cases of claimants being
sanctioned.
  There was discussion of Fraud Squads, Housing Benefit, cuts in
mother' s benefits, and an alternative election show, but the
dominating theme of the proceedings was the looming threat of the
introduction of Project Work.             

Unemployed Worker

The following are Anti-JSA groups
we know of in London.

North London, c/o PO Box 2474, Loncion N8 Tel:
0181-802 9804 (also for general information
about starting your own group)

East London Against the JSA, c/o 84b
Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX

Hackney Against the JSA, c/o Colin Roach
Centre, 56 Clarence Road, London E5

Hounslow Claimants Action PO Box 87,
Hampton, Middlesex, TW13 3TF

Newham & District Claimants Union, Durning
Hall, Earlham Grove, Forest Gate, London E7

South London, Box JSA, 121 Railton Road,
London SE24 OLR

Southwark Claimants Action, c/o SHIP, 612 Old
Kent Road, London SE 1 5 1 JB

Merton Unemployed Centre, Wimbledon
Methodist Church, London SW19 1 SP

London Against the JSA, PO Box 3140, London
E1 7 5U

Groundswell is a UK-wide network of
independent claimant and campaigning groups
against the JSA and Project Work. For more
details about groups outside London contact them
at:

Oxford Claimants Action Group, c/o
OUWCU, East Oxford Community Centre,
Princess Street, Oxford OX4 1 HU.

FREEDOM PRESS INTERNATIONAL               
http://www.tao.ca/~freedom


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