Diary – Page 2 – Notts Save Our Services

Boycott Workfare week of action 3rd day report – Nottingham event forthcoming on Saturday 23rd March, Market Square

Boycott Workfare have reported on the first three days of action against workfare (compulsory work for benefits) which started on Monday 18th March:

A4E Communications Blockade – Day 3 of the Workfare Week of Action
Contact workfare exploiter Salvation Army – Day 2 Workfare Week of Action
24 hours to stop IDS rewriting history and robbing £130 million – Day 1 in the Workfare Week of Action

Nottingham event on Saturday 23rd March 2013

The Nottingham campaign encourages everyone to show their opposition to workfare by coming on the Burton blockade against workfare – Saturday, 23rd March 2013, 2.00pm.
Meet at the left lion in Nottingham City Centre, Old Market Square.

Facebook event page for the Burton blockade:

http://www.facebook.com/events/341132549339550/

Council Tax Benefits information meetings in Nottingham – Every 2 weeks starting Thursday March 21, 7pm – International Community Centre

Unable to pay your Council Tax Bill?
Worried about getting into council tax debt?
Want to build solidarity with other claimants to fight these cuts?

CTB Information Meetings
information, support, campaign
Every 2 weeks starting Thursday March 21, 7pm

Download flyer, or read on.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Defend Council Tax Benefit Campaign is running regular sessions in the city centre from Thursday 21 March to monitor the impact of Council Tax Benefit cuts, provide information to people who may not be able to pay their bills and invite them to join the campaign.

The Government has scrapped the national Council Tax Benefit scheme and from 1st April this year local councils have to start their own scheme with less money. Under Nottingham City’s new Council Tax Support Scheme, council tax benefit is being cut by 8.5% for all working age claimants and from April 2014, Nottingham City Council proposes a cut of 20%.

Council tax bills are arriving on peoples’ doorsteps this month causing anger, anxiety and distress as many claimants already on the breadline are being asked to pay amounts they can’t afford. The cuts affect people on low incomes, in part time work, unemployed or unable to work because of sickness (pensioners are not affected at the present time)
This is not an individual problem for claimants, we need to build solidarity to support people who can’t pay and build a campaign to fight these cuts.

The sessions are:

7pm Thursday 21 March and every alternate Thursday
International Community Centre
Mansfield Road
Nottingham

For more information (and to check re holidays etc.) contact Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign on 07505 135 807 or defendcounciltaxbenefits [at] yahoo.co.uk, http://defendcounciltaxbenefits.blogspot.co.uk/ , http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/450355785005204/, https://twitter.com/defendbenefits tweet us defendbenefits

Bedroom tax protext in Bootle, Merseyside shows the way + Nottingham protest on March 16th

Update 2 – Nottingham protest report and photos: http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/5463

Update1 – Nottingham protest announced:

Saturday, March 16, 2013.1:00pm. In Nottingham alone, 4746 families will be affected by the Bedroom Tax. We oppose the Bedroom Tax in principle & in detail. Not one person should be forced to pay it. This is a peaceful demonstration to protest against the injustice of the Bedroom Tax that penalises the disabled, single parents, families of those recently deceased, foster parents and the parents of children in the army or at university: This will be a static demonstration rather than a protest march.

Twitter: @BedTaxNotts
http://www.facebook.com/events/613425092006763/

Many hundreds of people raged through the streets of Bootle, Merseyside yesterday (28th February 2013), in protest against the ‘Bedroom Tax’, which is just one month away from implementation. The ‘tax’ is actually a housing benefit cut if you have any spare rooms in a council house or other social housing. The mass demonstration had been organised by grassroots resistance group Stand Up In Bootle, which only sprang up a few weeks ago. Full story:
http://infantile-disorder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/explosion-of-class-anger-at-bootle.html

Meanwhile Nottingham City Council have mounted a petition to central government against the tax, a move that is being backed by the local voluntary sector: http://www.nottinghamcvs.co.uk/news/article/nottingham-cvs-backs-campaign-re-think-bedroom-tax

It will be interesting to see which approach is successful. Nottingham City Council have a long way to go to convince City residents it has their interests at heart, having cut many services that affect housing and homelessness over the last few years and is also poised to implement the government’s council tax benefit reform which will result in some council tax being due if you are on certain benefits.

See also: ‘Bedroom tax’ is ‘appalling’ says paediatrician:
http://www.channel4.com/news/bedroom-tax-is-appalling-says-paediatricianI

Burton blockade against workfare – Saturday, 23rd March 2013, 2.00pm

Nottingham against Workfare have announced a local action during the Boycott Workfare week of action.

Saturday, March 23, 2013. 2:00pm until 5:30pm.
Burton Mens Clothing, 11-13 Beast Market Hill, Nottingham NG1 6FB

NaW say,

As part of the workfare week of action
http://www.facebook.com/events/517491058274105/ Nottingham against workfare will be taken action against Workfare scummers Burton’s. Part of the Arcadia group notoriuous for their tax doging way, Burtons have been using those forced into workfare to stack their shelves and clean their floors for quite some time without ever paying them. We plan to close down their shop amd let them know how disgusted we are with them and others like them who continue to abuse the working class.

Facebook event page for Burton blockade: http://www.facebook.com/events/341132549339550/

NaW facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/nott.workfare

Background to the week of action

Workfare Can Be Broken – Join the Week of Action on 18-24 March and help make it happen

The Government is pushing ahead with increasingly savage workfare policies despite the fierce resistance to the scheme causing many high street names and national charities to pull out.

Unemployed people can now be sentenced to six months compulsory unpaid work as part of the Community Action Programme. On December 3rd last year – International Disabled People’s Day – the DWP introduced forced work for sick and disable…d claimants.

Companies such as Superdrug, Argos and McDonalds, who have all been quick to take on unpaid workers on government schemes, have seen a year of boycotts, pickets, demonstrations and occupations due to their involvement in the scheme. Many national charities have pulled out as a result of protests, but some, such as The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), Salvation Army and Sue Ryder Foundation are unrepentent about their army of government subsidised unpaid workers. Many of the new workfare programmes depend on charities like these to provide placements.

Workfare can be broken by showing these organisations that the public have clearly rejected unpaid work. Evidence has shown that mandatory work has no impact in actually helping someone find a job, the stated aim of the scheme. Instead workfare is used to replace real jobs, with some companies even caught taking on unpaid workers to fill temporary Christmas positions.

Join Boycott Workfare on 18-24 March for a week of action against workfare exploiters everywhere. Take action in a town or city near you, join in online and show all those who profit from forced labour that we mean it when we say “if you exploit us, we will shut you down”.

Fuel poverty protest in Nottingham, Thursday 14 February 2013 at 12:30pm

Fuel poverty protest against E.on.

Event venue: Eon Open House, 33 Lister Gate, Nottingham, NG1. [Map]

Thursday, 14 February 2013 12:30 until 14:00

Eon and the other five big energy companies (EDF, Centrica, SSE,
Scottish Power and npower) are a cartel which controls 99% of the
domestic energy market. Domestic energy prices for us are constantly
rising whilst every year these companies declare record profits.

According to a recent survey, this winter 1 in 4 families have had to face
a stark choice between heating and eating. Whilst e.on executives and
shareholders spend bumper profits on second homes and holidays abroad,
people in the UK are freezing because they need to eat.

We are starving to stay warm!

On June the 17th and 18th the G8 world leaders will be meeting in
Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, to discuss how to maintain the capitalist
system which enables and justifies this daylight robbery. While we allow
our lives to be governed by these crooks profit will always come before
people. The only way to achieve real change is to break from this
vicious cycle of exploitation, smash capitalism and reorganise our
communities in a way which ensures everyone has access to the
necessities of life.

From the 10th of June there will be a week of action, workshops and
meetings in London to protest against the G8 and to work towards
building the sort of world that we want to live in.

Background

Stop the Great Fuel Robbery weekend of action… One week to go

Hi everyone,

Next weekend, between 15th-18th February, hundreds of people across
the UK will be taking to the streets to Stop the Great Fuel Robbery in
our national weekend of fuel bill assemblies and action
( http://fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/stop-the-great-fuel-robbery/ ) All
the details of what’s going on are at the end of this email. But,
first, here’s a round-up things you can do to help.

ONLINE SPEAK OUT FORUM

We’ve launched an online forum for people to speak out about their
experiences of the likes of mammoth fuel bills, greedy landlords,
rip-off energy companies. If you can’t make it to an event on the
weekend, submit your testimony online in advance (make sure you let us
know if you want it read out at a fuel bill assembly.
Find the online speak-out forum here:
http://fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/speak-out-on-your-situation/

DO YOU HAVE TRADE UNION CONTACTS?

We’re asking trade union branches to offer their support for Fuel
Poverty Action and our weekend of action. If you have union contacts,
email fuelpovertyaction@gmail.com and we’ll pass on a model email and
letter and motion of support.

SPREAD THE WORD

The facebook event for the weekend of action is here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/480595618645346/
Please join the event, invite all your friends and share it as your status.
And, don’t forget to follow @FuelPovAction on Twitter.

Warm wishes,

Fuel Poverty Action
====================================================
Visit http://www.fuelpovertyaction.org.uk
Twitter: @FuelPovAction
http://facebook.com/fuelpovertyaction
Email us at fuelpovertyaction [at] gmail.com
Tel: 07586 482 157
====================================================

Benefits campaigners to leaflet Nottingham Job Centre about Universal Job Match – Wednesday 23rd January at 9.30am

Benefits campaigners will be outside the Jobcentre this
Wednesday meeting at Station Street Jobcentre at 9.30am.

We will be handing out leaflets informing people on JSA about their rights
and data protection, especially around the new UJM (Universal Job Match)
scheme. UJM is not mandatory yet but is being treated as if it is. The
scheme has received widespread criticism (see link below) for its security
weaknesses with personal data being easily accessible by anyone posing as
an employer. It is also the latest step towards the draconian (Jobcentre
can track everything you do on the UJM, meaning when it is in full flow
they will be able to keep complete tabs on the job searching of people
claiming JSA.)

We are also inviting people to the “Nottingham Unemployed Workers Club”
which meets every Thursday afternoon between 11am and 2pm for cups of tea
and coffee, some lunch and sharing of ideas. We meet at Sumac Centre, 245
Gladstone Street, Forest Fields.

Be great to see you there!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/unemployed-to-be-forced-to-sign-up-to-universal-jobmatch-website-at-the-centre-of-security-concerns-8427546.html

See also: Info on UJM in English and Polish. http://universaljobmatch.eu/.
http://universaljobmatch.eu/pl.

Defend Council Tax Benefit – Lobby and Rally in Nottingham – 18th December 2012, 12.30pm and 5.30pm

DEFEND COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT LOBBY AND RALLY, TUESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2012, Nottingham City.

FIGHT FOR A FULLY FUNDED SCHEME BASED ON NEED

Lobby: Loxley House, Station Street 12.30pm.

Rally: Nottingham Market Square 5.30pm.

Organised by Notts Defend Council Tax Benefit Campaign
defendcounciltaxbenefits@yahoo.co.uk or http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/450355785005204/
https://twitter.com/defendbenefits (tweet us @defendbenefits).

See also

* Nottingham City Council pay freeze battle: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Pay-freeze-battle-just-starting-council-warned/story-17594444-detail/story.html
* Elderly and families to feel the pinch as Nottingham City Council makes £25m savings: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Pay-freeze-battle-just-starting-council-warned/story-17594444-detail/story.html

Students’ march in London #DEMO2012 on 21st November

The national demo is called ‘#demo2012: Educate, Employ, Empower’. It will take place on Wednesday 21 November, and will involve a march through central London.

The current government has put the future of an entire generation at risk. Jobs are hard to come by, students are saddled with unprecedented levels of debt, it’s a struggle to get onto the property ladder, and state pensions are being phased out – it’s easy to feel despondent.

But NUS members have decided to take action. At our National Conference in April, delegates voted to hold a national demonstration in the first term of 2012. We need your help to show the government how angry we are at their betrayals and broken promises.

Details: http://www.demo2012.org.uk/?page_id=18 See also: Nottingham Students Against Fees and Cuts! http://nsafc.wordpress.com/

Demonstration Against the Government & Financial Crisis plus Celebration of Occupy’s First Year Anniversary

People from Nottingham Occupy who took over slab square a year ago will be running an information stand next weekend on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st October 2012 to demonstrate Against the government & financial crisis plus a celebration of Occupy’s first year anniversary.

Meet in front of the Council House (Old Market Square, Nottingham) from 12 Noon.

If you’ve had enough of the financial crisis, the cuts & loss of services affecting your lives & family, sick of the unjust tax evasion, tired of commodities being so expensive when their is no need other than to increase profit margins for the rich, sick of the wars being fought for power & control of resources to create higher profits, or the planet being destroyed & polluted to provide products, then join us, bring posters, banners & instruments, shout about what you are not happy with, dance with us & most importantly be part of the positive change you want to see & stand together united in defiance.

We are the 99%

More details on Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/487627724601725/

Oct 20th anti-austerity demonstration in London – coaches from Nottingham

A Future That Works: 20 October 2012

UPDATE POST-OCT 20th: Reportz from Indymedia: http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/10/501777.html

List of coaches: http://falseeconomy.org.uk/travel/east-midlands/all/t1

Demo info: https://nottssos.org.uk/2012/08/28/coaches-to-london-anti-austerity-demo-a-future-that-works-20th-october-2012/