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 gatekeepers 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.
