Right toWork Right toWelfare
NEWSLETTER MARCH 2013
The Human Cost of Austerity Over the summer of 2012 PPR began working with the Golden Thread Art Gallery in Belfast to harness the experience and ideas of unemployed people at the DHSS office in Great Patrick Street. With over 5000 unemployed in north Belfast alone, Executive plans to create only 5000 jobs a year across NI are falling far short of what is needed to deal with an ever growing unemployment crisis. Local elected representatives at the Assembly have also passed the ‘Welfare Reform Bill’ through its first stage - designed to cut at least £18 Bn from the UK welfare budget at a time of fewer jobs and critical economic recessions. It is unclear exactly how the Bill will impact on people when it is introduced in 2013; however, it is clear that those worst off at present will be hit hardest yet again and in many different ways. Families, young people, the elderly and disabled are already struggling and can now expect massive changes to housing benefit, child benefit, employment support allowance, incapacity benefit, job seekers and much more in the new year. Since the summer, a Right to Work: Right to Welfare campaign has been developing led by people affected by unemployment and cuts in the welfare
system. The group has been using PPR’s human rights based approach to identify issues faced by unemployed people and gather evidence to help develop solutions to the problems of long term underinvestment in areas of high unemployment. Over 200 people looking for work or living with illnesses and disabilities have taken part in interviews, workshops and actions in recent months, each with a different story, each affected by cuts, job loss, and the failure by government to target resources into areas of obvious and proven need. Their experiences - sick people being declared fit for work, thousands
applying for the same job, back to work schemes that equate to little more than free labour, training schemes which are irrelevant in today’s labour market and continuous attacks on human dignity are in sharp contrast to the developing narrative amongst many decision makers of people who are ‘workless’, ‘work-shy’ and ‘addicted to benefits’. The Right to Work: Right to Welfare group have gathered evidence as to how government is failing to uphold international human rights obligations and how unemployed people are suffering as a consequence.
25th March 2013 12-2pm CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
Golden Thread Gallery, Great Patrick Street Belfast www.pprproject.orgFor more information contact sean@pprproject.org 028 90313315