Job Seekers Allowance

Activist? Unemployed?

The Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) is set to force people presently claiming benefit to accept low paid, menial work or lose their benefit. It will also lower the average wage.

What Is The 'Job Seekers Allowance'?

The JSA is set to come into force in October 1996, replacing Unemployment Benefit and Income Support. You will have to sign a personal contract - your Job Seekers Agreement. In the first twelve months, a quarter of a million claimants are expected to be worse off. 10,000 people are expected to lose ALL benefit with no other income. ‘Active signing’ will mean an interrogation each time you sign, on what you have done to look for work. People will be forced to accept low paid work with bad terms and conditions. Existing jobs will become more vulnerable to wage cuts and poorer conditions.

Loss Of Benefit

You'll lose benefit for six months if you ‘voluntarily’ leave a job for any reason, including sexual harassment or ill health. You'll also lose benefit for six months if you're sacked, refuse work or make yourself unavailable for a job, even for ethical or political reasons.

It's Not Just The Tories

Tony Blair is also calling on claimants to fulfil conditions before getting benefit. Frank Field, a Labour MP, has called for claimants suspected of working to sign 4 times a day!

Job Seekers Direction

This allows Employment Service (ES) staff to direct people to look more employable - e.g. look more ‘feminine’, get a haircut, tell you what to wear etc. ES staff are having their pay cut and put on an 'incentive scheme' i.e. the more people they take off benefit, the bigger the bonus they get! Front line staff will decide who gets their benefit cut. Attacks on staff have gone up 240% - and will surely get worse.

Support Strikers

Most ES staff oppose the JSA, a third of them will be made redundant as a direct result of it. There have been forty strikes at Job Centres around the country, in some areas they have disrupted JSA trials. The Civil and Public Service Association voted 3-1 in favour of industrial action. Support the strikers at your nearest Job Centre. If there is a strike it doesn't affect you receiving a giro - you just don't have to sign. If the strike is successful then there is a good chance the JSA will be scrapped. Contact your nearest group from the list below for details of your nearest striking office.

Action Against The JSA

Support striking Employment Service Workers Occupy Job Centres (not where you sign yourself!). Removing cards (or adding your own!) at the centre causes chaos. Be careful not to mess up peoples benefit claims

Over cooperate. Have everyone turn up at the Job Centre at the same time.

All turn up at work places / companies, 'seeking work' at the same time. This will be unproductive and bosses won't want to take advantage of the JSA to employ troublemakers like you.

Set up an action group if there's not one in your area. Inform other claimants about the JSA and how to fight it.

How To Survive

Get clued up. Pretending to fulfil your agreement is easier if you know what’s in it! If you appear to know you stuff, they’re less likely to see you as an easy ‘quota filler’.

Don’t give them an excuse to target you. Be on time, friendly, confident and 'smartish'.

Don’t accept Job Club help (unless you want to), they’re bound to find an opening.

Interviews are easy to mess up - ask awkward questions, e.g. about the union or the company's ethical practices, make yourself an undesirable worker. Don’t be too keen.

Lastly... Sort your life out so you can be an activist without relying on benefit. Form housing co-ops, join local exchange trading systems, look after each other. If you are forced into employment remember the possibilities for direct action on the job are endless...

Contact your local group or organise your own:

Oxford Unemployed Workers and Claimants Union, East Oxford Community Centre. Princess Street, Oxford OX4 1HU

Reading Solidarity Group, c/o The Info Shop, 26 Silver Street, Reading RG1.

Exeter Claimants, Box 185, The Flying Post, Exeter EX4 4EW

Bristol Claimants, Box 51, 82 Colston St, Bristol BS1 5BB

Edinburgh Autonomous Group, c/o Peace and Justice Centre, St Johns, Princess Street, Edinburgh

Bradford 1 in 12 Club, 20-23 Albion St, Bradford BD1 2LI

Plymouth Claimants Union, PO Box 21, Plymouth PL1 1QS

Somerset Community Defence Campaign, 4 Gordon Terrace, Bridgewater, TA6 5JP

Westfield Association, 6 South Baffin St, Dundee DD4 6SW

Brighton Claimants Community Action, c/o Prior House, 6 Tilbury Place, Brighton BN2 2GY

Incapacity Action, PO Box 9, 136-138 Kingsland High Street, London E8