Stop The New Deal! Reed Targeted

On 8th March, a coalition of workers, students and the unemployed, otherwise known as Leeds EF! and friends, visited the Leeds office of Reed Employment, the company which is administering the New Deal Gateway Centre in Hackney.

Ten people entered the offices, while a further ten remained outside with a banner and leaflets. There were around double this number of staff in the building, which made any serious disruption difficult. Some staff were prevented from working however, and the police were called. Eventually it was agreed to leave, in exchange for a phone call with Reed's head office, letting them know that the action had taken place.

The media was not contacted about the action, instead the group decided to put some effort into creating their own publicity: Dole offices were leafleted afterwards, and, the following day, a report of the action, together with information on other campaigns, was flyposted around the city. Some people, while visiting council offices later in the day, climbed the columns of the offices and cut down their New Deal banner, nicely rounding off the day's events.

For more details of the campaign against Reed contact Haringey Solidarity Group 0181 374 5027.