Published August 29, 2012 | 
As Millions of people across Britain watch the 2012 Paralympic games aimed to inspire young disabled people to take up sport, compete at the highest level illustrating disability does not prevent a full and active life. It is disgraceful hypocrisy that ATOS Health Care, the private company who carries out the cruel and dis-credited capability assessment is the main sponsor of the games.
As Tara Flood, who won a Paralympic gold in Barcelona in 1992 before becoming a campaigner and educator said in an interview to the Guardian newspaper “It is a shocking irony that Atos is a main sponsor of London 2012 whilst destroying disabled people’s lives on behalf of the government.”
The SCC states disabled people are forced to suffer the stress of the ‘work capability’ assessment administered by Atos; the sole aim of this cruel process is to push as many people as possible off sickness benefits, as part of the Assembly Executive’s planned £500 million in benefit cuts.
The SCC says
- Fight all benefit cuts.
- Kick Atos out of the Welfare system.
- End the work capability assessment.
- A living wage and benefits with work opportunities for all without compulsion.
JOIN THE PROTEST
ROYSTON HOUSE
34 Upper Queen Street, Belfast
FRIDAY, 31st AUGUST 2012:
12.30 – 1.30 PM
Published July 19, 2012 | NIPSA Public Sector Union have organised a rally in support of night shift health workers from Branch 732 based at Lakewood Regional Secure Centre, Newtownards Road, Bangor. These workers have been on all out strike since 18th June 2012. They have been forced to take this stand as their employer, the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust has attempted to make massive budget cuts by trying to impose draconian new terms and conditions on these workers.
Instead of investing in this essential service by employing the staff needed for the job; the SEHSCT will make these workers work extra shifts over longer periods which will have a devastating impact on the quality of service. The workers rightly opposed this stealth cut in a service that protects vulnerable children; but management refused to enter into real discussions in how these cuts can be prevented leaving these courage workers with no other choice but to commence immediate all out strike action.
Attend the rally!
The SCC is supporting these workers in defence of their jobs and service.
Show your support & attend the rally at:
Lakewood Regional Secure Centre,
Newtownards Road, Bangor.
support these members
24th July 2012 at 1pm
Published April 3, 2012 | PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE
NO MORE UNNECESSARY DEATHS
STOP THE HEALTH CUTS
Protest Picket
1pm Friday 6th April
@
Health and Social Care Board Headquarters
12-22 Linenhall Street
Belfast
Due to the closure of Belfast City Hospital A&E and continuing cuts to the health service lives are being lost. Stop the Cuts Campaign will be picketing the Health Trust at lunchtime on Friday to demand an immediate end to cuts and the re-opening of the Belfast City A&E.
Please make every effort to support the picket. Forward this on to all your contacts. Thank you.
For more information contact Pat on 07810522111
Keep up to date with the Stop the Cuts Campaign at www.stopthecutscampaign.com
Published February 21, 2012 | 
Over the past few months the government’s work experience scheme has come under increasing scrutiny. The scheme is nothing more than one attempting to introduce slave-labour for the young unemployed, with young people working 30 hours a week, for eight weeks, and receiving no additional pay on top of their Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), which they are threatened with losing if they do not participate.
The case that has received the most media attention is that of Cait Reilly, a geology graduate who had been volunteering in a museum to try to get a job there, but was forced to work in Poundland. The scandal reverberating from this has prompted Sainsbury’s and Waterstones to pull out of the scheme.
According to the government’s propaganda this ‘experience’ will give young people the skills to make employers take them on. But there is no guaranteed job at the end of the ‘experience’. Tesco’s have already taken on 1,400 ‘volunteers’, but only 300 have received jobs and who’s to say that they wouldn’t have been taken on anyway!
Tesco’s have now started advertising jobs as JSA + EXPENSES in the job centre plus system, including one dated 9th February for night shift workers (usually premium rates) in East Anglia.
The truth is that this is a massive attack on pay, terms and conditions of retail workers. Instead replacing vacancies with real jobs, companies can bolster their profits by taking on conscripts for a month or two.
Whilst its welcome that USDAW has now heeded the call we made 3 months ago and have now come out in open opposition to the scheme, with General Secretary, John Hannett being quoted in the press as demanding ‘the rate for the job’.
USDAW putting pressure onto companies it has agreements with is a step forward, but it shouldn’t be left there. Activists and reps should link up with unemployed campaign groups such as Unemployed Centres and Youth Fight for Jobs to build a campaign linking those in and out of work to scrap the ‘work experience’ scheme and replace it with real jobs with union rates of pay and conditions.
SCC supports the Youth Fight for Jobs campaign as part of a national day of action against workfare have organised a protest on the Saturday March 3rd, 1:30 pm at TESCO’s, Royal Avenue Belfast.
The SCC are asking all who support the right for a real living wage and not exploitation to join the protest and get involved.
