This is the banner one person has put together for the week of action. What are you planning?
As the week of action on 18-24 March approaches, people across the UK are planning to step up the pressure on workfare exploiters in their towns. From workfare ‘sleuthing’, to workfare walks of shame to pickets and sit-ins, the possibilities are endless. Lots of people have posted to find others in their town on the Facebook event wall, but if there’s just one of you, you can still have fun and make an impact on your high street! Here, one person describes how they did just that…
“After the excellent court result of Public Interest Lawyers on Tuesday the 12th of February for Cait Reilly and Jamieson Wilson (and let’s face it, for all of us), I was elated. I looked at this result and thought “How can I use this?”
By Thursday the 14th I had the answer. Serve them a notice!
This is the simplest one person action I can think of, no organising a mob to back you up, no great big banners to unfurl. Just a quick in and out!
All I did was knock up the leaflet on my laptop and print off the leaflet in a library. Here it is, please feel free to adapt it.
All you have to do then is walk in like you own the place. Ask for the manager, and then speak to them in a polite yet firm manner. Explain to them that they may be breaking the law, and then hand them your leaflet, I also gave them Boycott Workfare’s “Workfare and your job” leaflet saying “You’ve been served”. Then I asked them to contact Boycott Workfare with what they think and feel about workfare, a quick about turn, and you’re off to the next target.
My first target was a Greggs. I walked in and patiently waited for the punters to buy their horse and kidney pies and other such ‘food’, until I got to the counter where the manager was working. “Good afternoon, I’m Pierre Lapin from the Jobseeker’s Alliance. I am sure that you are aware of the court ruling on Tuesday concerning unemployed people being forced to work for their benefits, which found the schemes to be illegal. You’ve been served!”. The look on the manager’s face was mild shock, as I handed her my ‘serving notice’. I then smartly turned and left, giving no chance for discussion.
I then repeated the same on a further 10 places. Only two managers of Workfare exploiters (the other Greggs and Topshop) refused to take the leaflets. The person from Greggs “Couldn’t take it on company time” so I politely explained to her that this is company business, and that if she didn’t want more visits from activists then maybe she ought to get in touch with Head Office and explain to them. The manager of Topshop said that she wouldn’t be doing Workfare, in her own words “I have enough trouble getting the staff I do employ with wages to work”!
A copy of the leaflet can be downloaded here. Feel free to use the gist of it and do your own action. Easy, quick and simple and perhaps enough to make them think twice about staying involved. Give it a go on your high street!”
Let us know what you plan for the workfare week of action!
Boycott Workfare
