[OccupySheffield] [Occupy London] Fw: [oh15] Fwd: agenda: unemployed/other workers union

Tue Dec 27 13:39:12 GMT 2011

To Occupy Sheffield, I have written to the City A.M. the newspaper for the City of London Corporation on a matter that affects many claiming Incapacity Benefit and other disability benefits. I would welcome you all to approach your Member of Parliament, if you have one Trade Union representive, Doctor, Newspaper, Welfare Rights Worker and legal representive/lawyer if you feel you are affected by the issues below. 
By e-mail to: allister.heath at cityam.com and esteemed others Sunday 4th December 2011 Mr Allister Heath,Editor,City A.M.4th Floor,33 Queen Street,London EC4R 1BR. Dear Mr Heath, RE: “Nick Clegg has got it wrong yet again” City A.M. editorial dated 7thApril 2011 Allister Heath editor claims the City of London is not a closed society in relation to employment. RE: The closed society of Protracted Employment Discrimination in London against Schizophrenics and Manic Depressives (Bi-Polar), sufferers of severe mental illnesses, is unacceptable. RE: Pejorative remarks by My Stuart Fraser the policy chairman of the City of London Corporation in relation to sufferers of mental illness on the 15th November 2011 Thank for publishing in the City A.M. with the slogan “Insanity defence” my recent letter on the 17th November 2011 in relation to the care of the mentally ill in British society. May I have your paper’s indulgence once more on an issue that affects all Shareholders of Companies traded on the London Stock Exchange?  The Occupation of the London Stock Exchange is a peaceful gathering of ordinary people agitated and troubled by the cares of the day which include those who suffer from mental illness. The mentally ill are the third most vulnerable group in society and are routinely discriminated against in relation to employment, housing, accessing sport and health facilities and in consequence of their condition often lose contact with their families suffering extraordinary high levels of estrangement and isolation. The mentally ill are people, someone’s son, daughter, brother or sister, father or mother, husband or wife. The next time you are in a room full of people it is virtually inevitable someone in the room will know someone who is mentally ill. Mental illness affects all walks of society every social class and ethnicity is represented within mental health services. If a close friend suffered a broken arm you would naturally offer your sympathy, if that same friend suffered from a broken mind would you still offer the olive branch of sympathy? Mental Ill health and treatment should be talked about openly and should not be hidden away in a cupboard. This responsibility to talk openly, fairly and compassionately falls upon all channels of the media from television broadcasters to the tabloids up to the Houses of Parliament. Figures taken from the website of the Royal College of Psychiatrists In reveal that in parts of Germany the percentage schizophrenics in employment is sixty per cent (60%) the corresponding figure in London it is six point seven per cent (6.7%). (source: Rates and correlates of employment in people with schizophrenia in the UK, France and Germany BJP 2007, 191:30-37.) The facts speak for themselves in London there is barefaced prejudice by employers against the mentally ill. By the process of extrapolation equates to one million British Citizens institutionalised on welfare. Has Stuart Fraser, the policy chairman of the City of London Corporation commissioned “policies” on pathways in to employment for the mentally ill? If Stuart Fraser has acted then these unfamiliar “policies” have been a failure but the word “failure” is not in the vocabulary of Stuart Fraser. It is the opinion of the writer that the stigma of mental illness should be challenged, it is universally accepted that effective treatments should be available to all and I believe that principle extends to those who suffer from what the public perceive as invisible illnesses. The pernicious effects of unchallenged prejudices in the workplace against the vulnerable mentally ill perpetuates the injustices and inequalities the Occupation of London Stock Exchange is campaigning to put an end to. I would call on the Deputy Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg to show leadership by reforming the repugnant aspects of The City for it is undeniable that something is rotten at the heart of the City of London Corporation.
Your humble servant, Liam T KirkFloating press officer OLSX(Occupation of the London Stock Exchange),Common Ground adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral,London EC4M 8AD. Note to Editor: this letter is intended for consideration for publication in the City A.M..To: occupysheffield at email-lists.org; oh15 at googlegroups.com; occupylondon at groupspaces.com
From: marknbarrett at googlemail.com
Subject: [Occupy London] Fw: [oh15] Fwd: agenda: unemployed/other workers union
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:00:50 +0000

please see below from Anna Harris. hopefully some will link up over this in Sheffield :-)  ( hi Anna .. And Thx for the email. And, maybe we will need to re-define the meaning of work to explore common ground on this!  ) Mark   Sent from phoneFrom:  Anna Harris <anna at shsh.co.uk>
Sender:  oh15 at googlegroups.com
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:30:59 +0000To: <oh15 at googlegroups.com>ReplyTo:  oh15 at googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [oh15] Fwd: agenda: unemployed/other workers union
Hi Mark and all,

I will be at the national meeting in Sheffield, and I would definitely support this call for an 'Occupy-driven unemployed and diverse 'other' workers union'. This needs to include retired like myself, plus all those whose work is not considered 'employment' because it is not paid, eg mothers, housewives, carers, voluntary workers, etc. These activities, such as child rearing, cooking, cleaning, etc, actually form the core of our economy, though it is completely unrecognised and unacknowledged. Without this unpaid work, particularly on the part of those involved in child-rearing, our economy could not function.

Personally I am not so sure about the  'right to decent, liberating and well
paid work for everyone'. This can only be a real choice when people are not pressured to work in order to sustain themselves and their families. Work is a totally natural activity when there is no pressure, witness how young children want to be involved- 'Can I help? Can I do it?' is what I constantly hear from my grandchildren. That desire needs to be fostered, by allowing children to play an active part in activities that make a real contribution. And that is what we all want to do, make a real contribution, but it needs to be separated from being paid a living wage. The 'living wage' is everyone's right whether they work or not.

On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 9:13 AM, Mark Barrett <marknbarrett at googlemail.com> wrote:

Hey Everyone

Please can this idea ( for an Occupy-driven unemployed and diverse
'other' workers union) be raised at the national gathering ?

Mark

some more responses to the union for unemployed / other thread

"From: Mike Evison <sunset74 at btinternet.com>
Date: 24 December 2011 23:16
Subject: Re: [OccupySheffield] I think this warrants serious consideration

If funding is required then the TUC should levy the other unions for
financial and material assistance in the interests of fraternity. One
day those who are now unemployed will be looking for a union."

From B2B: "Thanks for this uplifting contribution!  Yes, a lot of us

who are long term
unemployed, the fact that some of us have additional needs/challenges should
be beside the point...

The thing that puts me personally right off, is groups such as the DPU focus
almost solly on the fact that: 'dis-abled people are having their benefits

cuts, rather than, portraying us as able"

Hey Rick B and Mike - I agree 100% with this. It's exactly what Occupy
UK should be focusing on imo. The  right to decent, liberating and well
paid work for everyone goes to the very heart of what will one day

make a great, productive and enlightened society. I know there was an
unemployed workers union of some kind (possibly of SWP origin) coming
out of Salford and Manchester a while back but what's needed now is

something high profile, ambitious and r'evolutionary -  just the kind
of thing Occupy should be generating on a national level. Personally I
would happily flier at my local job centre and do other local
activities on this front. Also the universal benefit initiative of IDS

will need a collective response. Mark B  PS I wrote a short piece on
the future of work ( in a real democracy ) earlier this year, here:
http://righttowork.org.uk/2011/07/real-democracy-and-the-future-of-work/

which people may or may not agree with!   ;-)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mike Evison <sunset74 at btinternet.com>

The following email from Rick B needs serious consideration because at

present the unemployed and the disabled have no official
representation and have become the whipping boys for the Con-Dem
government who are the 1% representatives.

They are all in vulnerable situations and have no way of defending

their rights, what ever they may be at this present time. If they are
left to wither and die through ignorance from those who are still
fortunate, then another group will be chosen to be picked off and so
the process will go on until we have no rights in this country.

Mike

Rick B email:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rick B <soisthesun at gmail.com>
Subject: [OccupySheffield] unemployed workers union

To: occupysheffield at email-lists.org

Hi camp,
I'm fed up with being unemployed and disabled and being pushed and
pulled by rich politicians. I'm trying to make contact with someone
from the Unemployed Workers Union, do you have any contacts? If there

are no Sheffield branches, it is something I am considering setting
up. Would there be support for such a union within your camp?
It strikes me that the unemployed and disabled are getting trampled on
more than any other group in society due to not having adequate

representation. The mainstream unions are pretty much looking after
their members and not representing the interests of the less well off.
The mainstream political parties are all 'in it together' with the

bankers and multi-nationals. Maybe 3 million angry unemployed and
disabled people in union and on a mission will send them a message
hard to forget.
Thanks, happy Xmas
Rick

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