Boycott A4e

A4e Brainwashers in 'partnership' with BAe Systems.

Monopoly
A4e now has the monopoly for 'Gateway to Work' entry into the DWP 'New Deal' provision in Sheffield.
A4e are 'partnered' with BAe Systems one of the biggest global weapons corporations. Anyone who's been unemployed for 18 months must attend a two week 'Gateway to Work' course and as a consequence of the monopoly must attend A4e, there is no choice, but to swell he coffers of this global corporation that has a 'partnership' with BAe systems by 'agreeing' to go on a course, if you refuse you face a 1/3 cut in benefits for 26 weeks. Benefit levels are barely half of the poverty line. There are however other providers of the next stage in the 'New Deal' provision the 13 or 26 week 'Intensive Activity Period'. If you're unemployed and anti-war then A4e should be boycotted. Tell your New Deal Advisor you object on grounds of conscience and insist that you should not be placed on the A4e course.

The rich get richer and the best way to rob a bank is to own one. A4e are nothing less than a profit led corporation training wage slaves to be good slaves, they are wage slave traders placing jobseekers into government subsidised minimum wage dead end jobs with often no union protections they neither know nor care how sustainable or suitable these 'opportunities' are. Wage slaves are encouraged to take any job with the lies and damn lies of statistics projecting the myth of the better job you might get if you're already employed. A4e pick up a bounty of £2000 for every wage slave they sell.

Brainwashing
In the last session on the first day of your induction to the 2 week 'Gateway to Work' course. It is suggested to you that it is your fault you haven't got a job.
The trainer (a trained 'motivator') draws four squares on the flip chart - he heads the chart "Essentials for getting a Job". By now the 30 or so trainees are working in groups part of the 'team building' exercise. The groups are now asked to work in producing a list of 'essentials'. After a few minutes "essentials" are called out from each group, the trainer now enters the called out "essentials" into the four squares he'd drawn earlier, obviously categorising them. The group are then asked to guess the categories of the 'essentials' and 'essentials' are soon categorised more or less as :- "Knowledge", "skills", "materials" and "Will". The trainees are then told that 'Will' is the "essential essential", Jobseekers need the will to want a job, if they don't have the will/desire to work then they'll be unemployed. The implication of course being that it is the jobseekers lack of will that has led to them not having a job i.e. its their fault, at this point many trainees object and state using various examples of how most often it is the decisions of governments made in the interests of global corporations that make people jobless. This is particularly true in Sheffield where the double whammy of the destruction of both the coal and steel industries led to the massive levels of unemployment in the '80s, many of these often skilled jobs were never replaced, now we have a low skill service jobs market mostly in retail or distribution sustained by the myth of exponential 'growth' and cheap credit. The current increase in jobless numbers is directly due to the greed and criminal activities of international bankers.

The following day the two most vocal objectors to this brain washing - It's your fault you haven't got a job, are called in for a little chat, where they are told that the discussion of politics in the class room wasn't allowed as it was 'negative' for the 'vulnerable' jobless on the course, In a break the class was asked if they minded political discussion, by an objector, none objected and a few said they found it made the course more interesting. It was pointed out to the trainers that it was they who had initially encouraged the discussion by asking questions to one of the objectors and then subsequently attempting to argue their position.

It was also pointed out to the trainers that part of the purpose of the course is to examine "barriers to work" a DWP directive, clearly external geo-political factors like climate change, banking crises, peak oil, having a war criminal government operating in the interests of oil and weapons corporations are 'barriers to work' to anti war environmentalists and should be discussed. Politics however was 'red carded'. During this little chat it was clear that the 'motivational' trainer was ignorant of a jobseekers right to reject a job opportunity for conscientious reasons, for example a vegetarian in an abattoir, a pacifist in a weapons factory.

One of A4e's 'partners' is BAe systems one of the biggest arms manufacturers on the planet. When this was pointed out to a trainer, the trainer lost their temper with the messenger, the two trainers present then rounded on the messenger one of them saying.

"You know the difference between me and you is that I'm employed and you're not".

Several of the trainees objected to this statement and concern was expressed to the Deputy business manager, an apology was subsequently offered by the trainer and graciously accepted by the objectors.

If you're unfortunate enough to have been unemployed for 18 months 'New Deal' is what you'll get and A4e wiil be the most likely provider, but you have some say in this and A4e should be boycotted if this is possible. A4e are a legitimate target for anti-war and anti-arms trade activists.