UK Indymedia - Sheffield

Workfare: Enslave us and we'll shut you down!

Protests took place outside stores across Britain on 3rd March 2012 as campaigners stepped up their opposition to the ConDem workfare slavery scheme, (started under Labour,) by taking the online campaigns, which have resulted in many firms pulling out, onto the streets .

In Edinburgh two Tescos were 'invaded' and pickets were mounted outside a Poundland and British Heart Foundation store. The Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty delivered a letter to the BHF store insisting “that BHF withdraws completely from the Work Programme and all workfare schemes”

Bristol cops arrested two protestors at a picket of a McDonalds, and a solidarity action was held outside Trinity Road cop-shop later in the day. In Birmingham about 50 campaigners stopped off at Sainsburies and Superdrug to congratulate them on pulling out the scheme, whilst pickets were held at Poundland and McDonalds. In Sheffield campaigners who were chucked out of a Tesco on West Street, continued their tour with visits to stores which included Marks and Spencers, McDonalds and Primark. Nottingham campaigners picketed Wilkinsons before moving on to other stores

In Lewisham, McDonalds, Boots, Greggs, BHS and Primark werre targeted by a group of about 30, whilst Oxford Street saw a few dozen campaigners target outlets including McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Holiday Inn in a game of cat and mouse awith the police. On Friday Ian Duncan-Smith was challenged by protestors as he arrived at a conference in Tottenham. He insisted that "workfare is a brilliant scheme".

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A New Sheffield Social Centre: The Black Rose Centre

Sheffield Social Centre | 21-02-2012 00:44 | Culture | Free Spaces | Sheffield

The Black Rose Centre is a new social centre project (PDF Flyer) at 268 Verdon Street, established by the Sheffield Social Centre Collective. This is the first time that the Social Centre Collective has had a permanent space, previously there have been weekend events held by the collective such as the Free Schools in 2011 and 2010 and there were two, short lived, squatted buildings in 2009.

On Wednesday 22nd of February at 7:30pm there will be a discussion on setting up a Sheffield Wide Class Struggle Anarchist Group following a screening of An Anarchist's Story. On Friday 24th February at 6pm there will be the opening of QUEER: an exhibition of local artists' work in response to "LGBT History Month", the deadline for submissions for the show is Wednesday 22nd February.

Newswire: Queer - 24th-26th February 2012 | Calling All Sheffield Anarchists | New Social Centre in Sheffield: The Black Rose Centre

Links: Sheffield Social Centre Collective | Open Street Map

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Solidarity protests demand larger slice for Pizza Hut workers

UK Indymedia Features | 05-02-2012 15:18 | Workers' Movements | Birmingham | Sheffield

On 4th Feburary 2012 Sheffield Pizza Hut Workers Union, part of the IWW, held a protest outside Pizza Hut in Crookes, Sheffield over their ongoing dispute over workers terms and conditions. Solidarity potests were held in Brighton, Bradford, Glasgow, London, Birmingham, Bristol [1, 2], Hull, Liverpool, Calais, Portland, Vancouver and Berlin.

The dispute centers on several specifics aspect of the workers terms and conditions, pay for working on bank holidays, mileage rates and also recognition of the union. Whilst it has been standard practice to pay workers an enhanced rate for working bank holidays, Pizza Hut has decided that it will only pay the standard rate. Delivery drivers who use their own vehicles are given an allowance of 60p per delivery, a static rate which has remained unchanged for several years despite the soaring cost of fuel. Furthermore, "The Pizza Hut Workers Union also has concerns outside of this dispute, including delivery staffs safety gear, a decreasing pay packet that falls behind inflation and a demand for a real living wage for all Pizza Hut workers."

Newswire: Pizza Hut Workers Demand A Proper Slice | Solidarity Picket Glasgow With IWW Pizza Hut Workers Report | London Wobs' Solidarity Picket with IWW Pizza Hut | Pizza Hut Solidarity in Bradford | SchNEWS: Gimme A Slice OF The Action | Pizza Hut solidarity in Brighton | Solidarity Picket in Bristol with IWW Pizza Hut Workers | Birmingham IWW Solidarity Picket with IWW Pizza Hut Union

Links: Sheffield Pizza Hut Workers Union | IWW General Membership Branch Sheffield | IWW | Pizza Hut Workers Call Out for Solidarity | Liverpool Solidarity Federation picket Pizza Hut

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3rd National Occupy Conference

Sheffield Indymedia | 20-01-2012 22:57 | Occupy Everywhere | Sheffield

Occupy Sheffield is hosting the 3rd National Occupy Conference over the weekend 20th-22nd January 2012 at the camp outside the Cathedral, and the squatted Citadel of Hope (map).

On Saturday at 1pm was a A Rally of the 99%, "a voice for the voiceless – to raise awareness of the issues of people without a voice" in front of Sheffield Town Hall, photos and audio from the rally.

On Saturday night there a Occupy Sheffield Benefit Bonanza at the Dove and Rainbow with Roy Bailey at 8pm. Last winter Roy Bailey played a set at the Sheffield University Occupation and you can listen to that here.

Sheffield Cathedral has served court papers on Occupy Sheffield, there is to be a court hearing on Thursday 26th January and the Cathedral, representing the establishment, is trying to scare Occupy Sheffield and especially the people named in the papers with the threat of costs being awarded against them. The Citadel of Hope has been secured for a month following a court case and agreement with the owner.

Newswire: Occupy Sheffield's Rally for the 99% | Cooperatives, Credit Unions and Experience of a Social Care Coop | Richard Murphy Talk on UK Tax from Occupy Conference | What the Third National Occupy UK Conference Can Teach Us

Links: Conference Wiki Page | @OccupySheffield on Twitter

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Police Raids on Occupy Squats

As UK occupations squat more buildings the police, many of whom have criminal records, are flouting the law to harass protesters, the Lords are debating making squatting residential buildings illegal, the government plans to make hundreds of thousands homeless and Occupy LSX is threatened with eviction.

On 8th January 2012 40-50 police officers raided the Railton Hotel, next to the train station in Lancaster, which had been squatted by Occupy Lancaster the day before. At approximately 8.15 pm, the police used a battering ram to break through the front door. Once they had gained entry, the police arrested the four occupants who were inside at the time. The Occupiers secured the building legally, and displayed notices of Section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 on the exterior of the building, but the police paid no heed to the law and Occupy Lancaster are now seeking legal advice.

Also on 8th January undercover police arrested 3 occupiers at Occupy Liverpool on suspicion of possession; none were found to be in possession of "controlled substances". Twenty or so police then surrounded the occupied building stating that it was a crime scene and laid siege to it for 3 hours. Like Occupy Lancaster a Section 6 notice was displayed but the police acted as as if squatting was already illegal.

Later this month Occupy Sheffield will be hosting a national occupy conference in the squatted Citadel of Hope.

Newswire: Eviction - Press Release: 9/1/12 from Occupy Lancaster! | Legal help required | Police Harass Occupy Liverpool at Legal Squat | Police raid on Occupy Lancaster | Occupy Sheffield Statement on the occupation of the Citadel Of Hope | Salvation Army Citadel Occupied and renamed Citadel Of Hope

Links: Occupy Lancaster | Occupy Liverpool | Occupy Sheffield | Occupy LSX | Squatters' Action for Secure Homes

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Sheffield Occupied!

IMC Sheffield | 05-11-2011 22:07 | Occupy Everywhere | Sheffield

On 5th November a Occupy Sheffield camp was established outside Sheffield Cathedral (map). After discussing where to camp at a meeting on the steps of the City Hall it was agreed to set up camp at the Cathedral. Posters and flyers you can print, to spread the word, have been produced by the Sheffield Equality Group.

Following on from the start of Occupy Wall Street on 17th September 2011 there is now a global occupation movement and a growing number of occupations in the UK.

Occupy Sheffield has a web site, a StatusNet account, a Twitter account, a presence on Facebook, an email list and a wiki with a Wishlist for the camp.

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Sheffield Free School 2011

IMC Sheffield | 14-10-2011 13:56 | Education | Free Spaces | Sheffield

UPDATE: Audio recordings of 3 workshops and the plenary are available.

All welcome to this year's Sheffield Free School event, on Saturday 15th October 2011, from 10am till 8pm, at CADS (Creative Arts Development Space) Snow Lane Entrance, Shalesmoor, S3 7AL (5 mins from city centre, next to "Kit Locker").

This is a Free School NOT of the type created under the present government, but in the long tradition of autonomous self-organised activities. It's being run by the Sheffield Social Centre project, which aims to establish a permanent space for non-hierarchical, anti-capitalist and non-discriminatory activity in Sheffield.

People in Sheffield are coming together to resist the tide of consumer capitalism, exploitation and crisis, creating a space for the free sharing of skills, ideas and knowledge. Come along to the Sheffield Free School ? maybe even to share a skill of your own.

The day's line up includes a whole list of workshops, practical activities, food, film, stalls, fun and friendly stuff.

Following that, everyone's welcome to the evening benefit gig (£4, £3 concessions) at the nearby Redhouse Pub, 168 Solly Street S1 4BB.

Full details of the day, including flyers to download and pre-event preparation meetings, can be found on the Sheffield Social Centre website and on the Free School event Facebook page

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Occupy! Manchester - 2nd October Tory Party Conference

After the ‘March for the Alternative’ in London on March 26th, thousands of people joined the TUC ‘Birmingham for the Alternative’ march on the Lib Dem conference on Sunday September 18th. There was a wide range of trade union participation, especially from public sector unions who recently announced a new wave of national strikes for November 30th. Student activists were also present, with a banner drop by the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts reminding conference delegates of Nick Clegg’s broken promises of opposing rises in tuition fees.

Plans for a third TUC demonstration, the Manchester ‘March for the Alternative’, are underway for the first day of the Conservative Party conference on October 2nd. Tens of thousands are expected to march past the conference centre and the ‘ring of steel’ around it, protesting against an agenda of cuts and austerity for the benefit of the rich. A coalition of anarchists, socialists, trade union activists, student unions and democracy campaigners, dubbed Occupy! Manchester, are also calling for an occupation of Albert Square, outside Manchester Town Hall, to create an assembly of protest on the doorstep of the Tory’s conference, and a place for real debate and discussion about the alternatives.

Plans for occupations and assemblies in Britain have been inspired by the large and vibrant student protests that took place last winter and by the popular demonstrations elsewhere. In New York, people’s assemblies were held on Wall Street on September 17th, the occupation there is on-going with a 24 hour camp in Liberty Plaza. a ‘March to Brussels’ has so far reached Paris. In London, another national student demonstration has been called for November 9th.

Links: Occupy Wall Street | Occupy Manchester | Occupy Glasgow

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Support the Antifascist Prisoners

In a miscarriage of justice reminiscent of the Ratcliffe case, six antifascist are currently being held in Wormwood Scrubs and one is on bail after being found guilty of "conspiracy to commit violent disorder". The first trial, of 11 of the 22 activists facing this absurd charge, ended on 28th June 2011 with four people being acquitted, four sentenced immediately to 21 months in jail, two others sent to prison awaiting sentencing, and the other released on bail pending sentence. A second trial of the 11 other activists is threatened to start on 12th September 2011.

The incident that led to police raids across the country and 23 arrests occurred on 28th March 2009 when a number of antifascist activists travelled to Welling in south-east London to protest against a neo-Nazi "Blood and Honour" skinhead gig at the Duchess of Edinburgh Pub. No fascists have been arrested or charged or have even appeared as witnesses in the court case and in the absence of any evidence forthcoming from the fascists the Police and Crown Prosecution Service spent a vast amount of time and resources to press charges which are tantamount to a thought crime and if widely applied would in effect make it illegal to organise protests against fascist events. The use of "conspiracy" charges against large groups of activists — charging them for things that might have thought about rather than charging them for anything they have actually done is clearly being done to suit a political agenda which involves the draconian repression of progressive activists, no doubt intended as a "deterrent" to others. While at the same time real corporate criminal conspiracies are covered up and swept under the carpet, contrast the treatment of the activists with the kid-glove treatment by the state of the Murdoch media crime family, as the collusion between powerful media, corrupt police and the political establishment is further exposed.

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Sheffield J30 Strike

On June 30th thousands of strikers and their supporters gathered in Sheffield for a protest against the governments cuts to public sector pensions and public sector cuts in general. following a rally in Barkers Pool there was a short march down the Moor and back up to Division Street and back to Barkers Pool for a second rally.

Earlier in the day there was a Sheffield Uncut action and there is a Uncut - 'Teach In' planned for Saturday 2nd July, 12pm, City Hall steps.

Newswire: Sheffield Rally at start of March | Sheffield March Against Cuts | Sheffield Rally at the end of the March | Public sector strike hits across Britain | More rally pics

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Sheffield Indymedia

Workfare: Enslave us and we'll shut you down!

A New Sheffield Social Centre: The Black Rose Centre

Solidarity protests demand larger slice for Pizza Hut workers

3rd National Occupy Conference

Police Raids on Occupy Squats

Sheffield Occupied!

Sheffield Free School 2011

Occupy! Manchester - 2nd October Tory Party Conference

Support the Antifascist Prisoners

Sheffield J30 Strike

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