On the morning of 11 February 1998 Edinburgh Sheriff Court sentenced a claimant to 150 hours community service for delivering an Edinburgh Claimants "3 Strikes" warning letter to a Benefits Office official at High Riggs Unemployment benefit office. Four hours later 20 claimants and supporters carried out a 3rd Strike action against Marianne MacDonald, a Project Work interviewer at High Riggs, and her manager Mr Laird.
Demonstrators - all wearing masks consisting of Marianne MacDonald's face! - stormed into the benefit office in central Edinburgh. They carried posters of MacDonald with the words NO ONE LIKES A BULLY. Protesters gave out leaflets bearing MacDonald's photo and detailing how she had consistently harassed claimants and tried to cut their benefits on 8 documented occasions. The leaflets denounced Labour's New Deal as 'compulsory slave labour" and condemned the cuts in single parent's benefits.
Police arrived but too late to stop the action. There were no arrests. Edinburgh Claimants declare "We won't be intimidated by the police and courts. The 3 Strikes resistance continues."
In the court case the Sheriff stated that the 3 Strikes campaign was " a pre-meditated and clearly illegal attempt to undermine the operation of the welfare benefits system". Earlier, on 21 January, the claimant had been found guilty of Breach of the Peace at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for delivering the "3 Strikes" letter. In court the Procurator Fiscal described the whole 3 Strikes campaign in Edinburgh, including the flyposting of a photo of a dole official round the city and the placing of the photo on the internet. The Sheriff (the judge) said this was a "sinister offence" and he was "considering a prison sentence".
The 3 Strikes campaign is a collective response by claimants to harassment and benefit cuts - dole officials and their managers responsible for particularly bad treatment of claimants are given warning letters asking them to treat claimants fairly : if they ignore 2 warnings and commit a 3rd "offence" then their photo is taken and put on posters with details of their actions, and a demo is held at their benefit office.
The exact charge was "That on 12 June 1997 in the Job Centre at the Dept of Social Security, 20 High Riggs, Edinburgh you did conduct yourself in a disorderly manner, pass offensive abusive and threatening writings to Marrianne MacDonald, employee there, and place her in a state of fear and alarm and committ a breach of the peace."
The letter passed to the official read : "Dear Marrianne MacDonald You have already received a written warning explaining our 3 STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT campaign. Yet you have persisted in harassing claimants to the point where we have received another complaint against you.
One more complaint against you and we will take your photograph and transform it into a giant poster with details of your offences highlighted. There will also be an angry demonstration held at your place of work and the Edinburgh media will be alerted. We are sure that you, like us, hope there will be no need for a STRIKE 3 measure and that you will temper your over-zealous behaviour accordingly.
Sincerely, Edinburgh Claimants"
The delivery of the final written warning was due to no fewer than 3 separate complaints being made against the official in May 1997, as a result of her activities as a Project Work interviewer.
We would like to thank everyone who gave their solidarity to the defendant and Edinburgh Claimants over the past few weeks. Thanks to everyone who came to the 3 Strikes action. And thanks for all the letters, phone calls and e mails of support , received from all over Britain and even from Ontario, Canada!
Above all we hope everyone will step up their own activities. Don't let them intimidate us. Resistance to attacks on claimants must continue, and link with the wider struggle.
EDINBURGH CLAIMANTS, 17 West Montgomery Place, Edinburgh EH7 5HA Scotland.
0131 557 6242 (ansaphone) Open : Tuesdays 12-4pm, Wednesdays 2-6 pm.
Please get in touch if you'd like copies of our 3 Strikes posters or other leaflets or posters on opposition to workfare, dole snoopers, etc..
LEGAL NOTE In court the claimant pled guilty to the charge as above; the prosecution dropped the part of the original charge that he made "abusive, offensive and threatening remarks". He stated that although he had delivered the letter, he was not a member of Edinburgh Claimants nor had he been involved in any other 3 Strikes-related activity.
Today claimants and supporters are taking action.. We say
We won't put up with compulsory slave labour. From April, unemployed under 25's are being forced to work for benefits plus £15.
This was the letter passed to the official, for which a claimant was charged. : "You have already received a written warning explaining our 3 STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT campaign. Yet you have persisted in harassing claimants to the point where we have received another complaint against you.
One more complaint against you and we will take your photograph and transform it into a giant poster with details of your offences highlighted. There will also be an angry demonstration held at your place of work and the Edinburgh media will be alerted. We are sure that you, like us, hope there will be no need for a STRIKE 3 measure and that you will temper your over-zealous behaviour accordingly. Sincerely, Edinburgh Claimants"
Today's demo is being held because we have received 8 complaints against MacDonald, and despite 2 letters to her and manager Laird, she still abuses claimants.
Mac Donald's actions include - Cutting a claimant's benefits by lying that the claimant had refused to apply for a job - Forcing a claimant with a science degree to apply for bar and restaurant jobs - Ordering a claimant to attend repeated restart interviews - Enthusiastically forcing claimants onto the compulsory cheap labour scheme Project Work.- Harassing claimants : claimants describe her as "obnoxious", "nasty" and "extremely officious"
The "New Deal"is initially targetted at 18-24 year olds unemployed over 6 months. Around 40% (govt. estimate) will get a low paid temporary six month job. Some will be allowed to do certain courses - but will only get £38.90 benefits per week. And around 40% will be forced to work for their benefits plus £15 per week (only £53.90). Anyone refusing these crap choices will have their benefit cut, initially for 2 weeks.
The New Deal is an attack on everyone in a job too. More low paid temporary jobs and more compulsory work for benefits undermines everyone's wages and conditions.
This applies to benefit offices too - how long before unemployed on schemes do some benefit office jobs? We support benefit office workers struggles against cuts and privatisation, and urge them to refuse to be used to attack claimants.
The employed and the unemployed need to get together to take real action against the attacks New Labour is making on us all. It's useless relying on leaders like the trade union bosses. We need to organise ourselves, linking up all the different battles for social justice.
In France unemployed people demanding benefit increases have occupied benefit offices, entered supermarkets in big groups and removed trolley loads of food, and demonstrated in their thousands. Could a similar revolt happen here?
How dare the government say that single parents should work - they are already doing invaluable work bringing up their children. Single parents need good child care facilities, public services, public recognition, and a decent income for all the work they do. Every mother is a working mother.
Labour make out a job is the way to salvation. In most jobs you are poorly paid, bored, get ordered about, and slave away to make some fat cat rich or to prop up the government. Only if people rebel and take the world's resources into all our hands will we be able to decide what to make and how to make it, only then will work be enjoyable and satisfying.
Edinburgh Claimants c/o Peace & Justice Centre, St Johns, Princes St., Edinburgh (mail only) 0131 557 6242 Get in touch!
EDINBURGH CLAIMANTS have forced Employment Service management to move notorious bullying Restart interviewer Marianne MacDonald into a job where she cannot harass claimants.
For years MacDonald used her position as a Restart interviewer at High Riggs benefit office to bully unemployed people. In one case she lied to try and get a claimant's benefit cut, and even reported the claimant (a European Union citizen) to the Home Office to try and get her deported!
On another occasion MacDonald was out for a meal in the evening, and spied a "client" of hers working in the restaurant kitchen. She promptly reported him for working while claiming benefits. Unfortunately for the vindictive scumbag the restaurant worker had already signed off, had already told the dole he had started work and had been spotted by "never off duty" MacDonald on his first day in his new job!
When the compulsory workfare scheme Project Work started, complaints flooded in about MacDonald's behaviour. Claimants unlucky enough to suffer her Gestapo-like interrogations described her as "obnoxious", "nasty" and"extremely officious". Despite receiving 2 warning letters from Edinburgh Claimants MacDonald showed no signs of attempting to reform and behave as a decent human being.
Edinburgh Claimants decided enough was enough.
A "3rd Strike" demo was carried out against MacDonald on 11 February. 20 protestors stormed into High Riggs benefit office brandishing placards and wearing her photo as a mask! Leaflets and posters have been circulating round the city, featuring her mug shot and details of how she's harassed claimants.
MacDonald has now been moved from High Riggs benefit office to the Marketing Section at St Andrews Square Job Centre, an office where no-one signs on. It appears that the Employment Service management didn't want to risk further disruption of their office by angry claimants. A victory for claimants' direct action! And a warning to any other dole office bullies - we can turn the tables on you!
Please email ec at autonomous.org.uk with any links to sites covering claiments and workers fighting back. But note due to spam emais are easily overlooked