Defending the state? Welfare cuts and the social wage

With some departments saying they intend to announce redundancies before the end of the year, and welfare and housing benefit cuts expected to mean increased poverty and homelessness, Christmas for many families could be bleak.

“Hundreds of thousands of others face a new year which will be marked by the government’s insistence that mass unemployment is a price worth paying to achieve its ambition to undermine the welfare state. We can not allow this to go unchallenged.”

Mark Serwotka



I have been thinking about this a lot – there’s a lot of anti-cuts campaigns that I wouldn’t usually get involved with as I feel there’s a lack of thorough analysis. Movements campaigning against cuts to the arts, for example, but not framing this within the wider context of tory ideology, political disempowerment and class war, are for me very problematic. I’ve been pleased to see some callouts actually doing the framing, for example one earlier this week I believe said that art is not just for the rich, which made me very happy to support that campaign. I’ve also been very impressed to see so much of the usual infighting being left to one side, and a lot of the old IWW spirit, “an attack on one is an attack on all” etc. But it’s when the filth start complaining about cuts to their profession that I start thinking fuck off – they’d be the ones beating the shit out of us for defending our jobs etc.

I’m more and more coming to see the importance of another part of IWW philosophy, it’s kind of obvious but I think well worth pointing out to answer some of my concerns.

Sometimes we lose sight of the distinction between boss and worker, as classes (obviously, as I don’t want to make a distinction between someone who works and someone unemployed on that basis alone, I’m long-term unemployed myself).

I’m not all that familiar enough with The PCS to make proper comments, but to my reading, someone who pushes someone else into a specific job with threats is very much boss class. People who’ll be grabbing tightly onto their jobs and pushing everyone else off with pleasure. Which is exactly what my experience has been like for a few years.

Obviously there are issues – The PCS is presumably not just boss class so we need to think about ways to support those who need support and confronting those who need to be confronted. But if people who happily fuck over other workers without a moment’s thought are now asking for our help?


Many workers and the unemployed are fed up with the TUC’s decision not to call a national demo against the Cuts till 5 months after the spending review. The PCSU are now pushing for a big London demo on december 11th. Here’s the info from the PCS NEC meeting

“At its special meeting on 26 October, the NEC agreed, given the speed with which the Government’s cuts will impact and the success of the 23 October marches and protests, that a national demonstration should be held this year in late November or early December, in addition to the demo next March.

“The PCS be discussing this with other unions and will propose at the TUC Public Sector Liaison Group meeting on 8 November that the TUC call such a demonstration.

Out of the PCS Union branches in Sheffield from across the Departments (DWP, DfEd, BIS, Home Office, HMRC etc etc) comes a call for a grassroots, labour movement led anti-cuts movement in Sheffield.

The inaugaral meeting will be on 24th November, 5pm at the Sheffield Novotel. This meeting will bring together workers, trade unionists, students, pensioners, the unemployed, volunteers, community campaigners and the people of Sheffield in general to set up a working, grassroots and fully democratic body of action to fight and mobilise against the cuts. Sheffield Anti-Cuts Campaign Speaking out in support of public services in Sheffield

Wednesday 24th November
5:30 p.m. – Furnival Suite,
Novotel Hotel, Arundel Gate Sheffield, S1 2PR

We The unemployed need to add our voice to the campaign and speak up for public services to help ensure that the people who paid for the bailout don’t have to pay for it AGAIN with their jobs and services and attacks on our beanafits.

This initial meeting aims to bring together Sheffield Trade Unions, community groups and students to discuss how best to organise and campaign against the cuts – all are welcome to attend.

For further information contact

 SheffieldAntiCutsCampaign@gmail.com

 http://lovesheffield.files.wordpress.com

As an unemployed person I have an issue with workers at the DWP they’re the people that place people onto slave labour work at A4E and such crap placements, the people that stop people’s income if they fail to comply to being on crap placements such as A4E..

They’re the people who refuse to see us, the unemployed, as human. It seems we are being asked to campaign at their side and save their jobs..

But when New Labour’s New Deal came in the PCS did not take strike action, not a murmur and those who did take action the so called workers phoned the police and had us nicked..

As an unemployed personI will defend people and there jobs, but unity comes both ways and in the last few days I have had to deal with The DWP and once more I have been treated like nothing more than scum by front line workers, all I asked was a change of addres form.

They in turn become aggressive and in body language ie pointing a finger at my chest saying I was the one being abuse..

So when has hello could you help, I need a change of address form been abusive? This was all what was said in turn I had staff and securtiy giving myself full on intimidation and harassment, these front line workers place us unemployed in fear.

But when us unemployed begin to organise they say we are attacking them as happened to myself last few days, once more these cunts have proven why a lot of people who are unemployed treat them with contempt:

Perhaps they need to ponder their actions towards us the unemployed and understand trust and respect will be given back when they’re on the picket line, but as it stands at the moment The PCS can in words just fuck off..