National Day of Action Against ATOS – Friday 30th Sept

Photo by Lisy Babe on Flickr

Friday, September 30
Everywhere!
In Birmingham from 12noon-2pm. There will be a demonstration and leafleting outside of Five Ways House, Islington Row (by Five Ways train station). ATOS use part of this building to carry out their work assessments, but most of the building is used by DWP. We will also leaflet five ways train station, and may move into the city centre later if the people who are present feel that would be a better place to be.

Invite people to the Facebook event to let them know this is happening.

We have written previously about ATOS, before the previous week of action, so read why you should come on this protest in this post. Those of you who have attended our public meetings will have heard disabled people speak about the attacks this government are making on them, and the role ATOS plays within that. Anyone who heard Sam speak at our meeting earlier this month will know how important it is to support this event.
That is why we have teamed up with DPACand Enable (a University based disability campaigning group) to organise this demonstration.

Photo by Lisy Babe on Flickr - click photo for gallery

For some more information about ATOS which has occurred since my previous post, read this post from Benefit Claimants Fightback, which I am reproducing. There are actions happening all around the UK, so if you are reading this and want to do something, there might be something local to you – or you could join the online actionand prepare yourself for the next day of action.

 

Take Action Against Atos Origin and the Poverty Pimps on the 30th September 2011.

We aren’t going anywhere!

Click for the Facebook Event for the National Action

Atos Origin have £300 million contract with the Con-dem Government to continue carrying out ‘work capability assessments’.

It is claimed assessments are to test what people can do rather than what they can’t. The real purpose is to strip benefits from as many people as possible.

This testing system has already led to people with terminal illnesses and severe medical conditions being declared fit for work and having benefits cut. GP’s are ignored in favour of decisions made by Atos Origin’s computer.

Plans announced for the scrapping of Disability Living Allowance have also revealed that this intrusive testing is likely to be extended to everyone on some form of disability or health related benefit.

To date around 40% of appeals against Atos Origin’s decisions have been successful. [DPAC say that up to 70% of appeals in which people are represented have been successful.]

Atos have now extended their harassment of sick and disabled by using legal threats to silence websites which have been critical of them

Organise and take action on the 30th September! Please list details in the comments below or email notowelfarecuts@yahoo.co.uk and we’ll try maintain a list here.

A list of Atos Origins locations can be found here