Stop the vilification and stigmatisation of disabled claimants

Words fail me. It is beyond contempt. 

Staff working for jobcentres and other Department for Work and Pensions contractors have been given guidelines on how to deal with suicide threats from claimants as the squeeze on benefits takes hold.

A document sent to jobcentre staff in April details what it calls a “new policy for all DWP businesses to help them manage suicide and self-harm declarations from customers”.

The guidelines include a “six-point plan” for staff to follow which says: “Some customers may say they intend to self-harm or kill themselves as a threat or a tactic to ‘persuade’, others will mean it. It is very hard to distinguish between the two … For this reason, all declarations must be taken seriously.”

Furthermore

A whistleblower said that the pressure on staff was leading to vulnerable claimants being targeted for sanctions. The targets have since been removed. But thousands of claimants of incapacity benefit and employment support allowance are being reassessed to see if they should be considered fit for work and moved on to jobseeker’s allowance.

Another jobcentre adviser said: “People have been coming off sickness benefits and thrown onto jobseeker’s allowance. It’s problematic because some customers are clearly not fit to work, and they are clearly very distressed. 

Logic , to me, tells me that if the state knows that people will try to kill themselves then don’t make a benefits system that vilifies, sanctions and destroys. But that isn’t the reality as the ConDems despise the working class and want to crush them especially ones claiming benefits, the ones who are the most powerless. Also, pragmatically, how much training have these glorified Samaritans aka benefit advisers had in dealing with suicide? That in itself stressful to deal with. What happens if a member of staff finds out that the person they dealt with killed themself? This will increase staff stress and no doubt could lead to mental health issues (staff could find themselves on the other side of the fence…witnesisng life as a claimant)

The fact that people feel they are being tipped over the edge and that suicide is the only answer. We have a society that not only fails people but gladly kills people.

With all the hype and lies peddled by the Bullingdon Boys Club and the right wing-media about the evils of claimants it creates a climate of fear. A distraction tactic where instead of blaming the real class enemy the finger points to the most powerless in this society.

When the reality is much more stark especially for disabled people:

Poverty

• Disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty as non-disabled people.
• Nearly half of disabled people have ‘no savings at all’, compared to just 12% of the general population.
• Families with a disabled child are estimated to be £50 a week worse-off than those without.
• 72% of carers with substantial caring responsibilities are worse-off as a result of caring. With over half forced into debt and three quarters struggle to pay basic household bills.

Employment and education

• Only half of disabled people of working age are in work (50%), compared with 80% of non disabled people.
• 23% of disabled people have no qualifications compared to 9% of non disabled people.
• Employment rates vary greatly according to the type of impairment a person has; only 20% of people with mental health problems are in employment.
• The average gross hourly pay for disabled employees is £11.08 compared to £12.30 for non disabled employees.
• Over 1 million people have given up work to care for ill, frail or disabled loved-ones, leaving them an average of £11,000 a year worse off.

SO PLEASE ……Demonstrate on Wednesday 11th May

The march will begin on Victoria Embankment between Horseguards Avenue and Bridge Street and will assemble at 11.30. There will be a rally on Victoria Embankment with speeches between 12.00 and 12.30 before the march sets off. The march will then begin at 12.30.

The march will take about an hour. It will take in Victoria Embankment,Parliament Squareand Millbank and finish in Dean Stanley Street.

Methodist Central Hall, which is near the end of the march route, will be available as a quiet space during the day.

 The lobby

After the march the group will be lobbying MPs as the Welfare Reform Bill reaches a critical stage in the House of Commons. They will be sharing their stories, making sure that Parliamentarians understand the combined impact of the cuts on their lives and futures. Crucially, they will be asking MPs to challenge policies that will push disabled people further into poverty and isolation. The lobby will take place in Westminster Hall and Methodist Central Hall between 13.30 and 17.30.

See you all there!