Prompted by the state’s relentless assault on the poor, members of the IWW
have formed a Claimants’ Union, open to all workers wholly or partially
dependant on benefits, in or out of work. This will include pensioners,
trainees, unemployed, disabled, low-paid and precarious workers, and anyone
willing to help. We are keen to recruit DWP staff, so we can co-ordinate
action on both sides of the desk, medical personnel who may be able to help
with assessments, and many of these already rely on Universal Credit or food
banks.
Our aim is to ensure all claimants receive their maximum entitlements and no
benefit goes unclaimed. Just as no-one should have to go into a work meeting
unaccompanied we intend to support each other in meetings with the DWP. We
hope in time to have a directory of Fellow Workers experienced in each
benefit available to coach others in passing assessments.
When we have sufficient numbers we will apply to register a Claimants’
Industrial Branch, as there are millions of us we could be the largest branch
in the Union and the most powerful Trade Union on these islands, with real
political clout. Our task then will be to get benefits set to a level we can
actually live on.
We will encourage all workers to take pride in and stand up for themselves
and each other, regardless of employment status. The bosses are not gate
keepers to our Class, and we will not allow politicians or media to define
us. Do they owe us a living? Of course they do!
The only rights we have are those fought for by working class people with
direct action, and the state is always keen to remind us they can be taken
away at any time. For too long we have been victims of austerity, undervalued
by capitalism. Now we have to fight and win; we must work together and we
need numbers, so join us! We can force them to raise benefits, abandon
sanctions, and stop persecuting us.