Our arrival
had been expected by both Merseyside Police and Asda security, who early on
began sweeps of the concourse outside the store. Unphased, the picket set
up outside the main entrance adjacent the car-park, unfurling banners and
handing out leaflets to customers. The reception from customers was
overwhelmingly positive, with one customer describing Asda's use of Workfare as
“disgraceful”. At this point, there was a low-key police presence, but that all
changed when The Matrix turned up and swelled Police numbers to 7 Officers.
Later another Police car turned up with another 2 officers. The Police then
began their usual tactics of goading & misinformation, informing the picket of
several complaints that had been made by ‘frightened’ customers.
The picket
continued to engage customers about Asda’s use of unpaid workers, which the
manager denied —going as far as saying that no unpaid workers are being used
in any Asda stores in the area. At this point a comrade informed me he’d just
been told by an Asda customer that the Sefton Park store was using claimants, as part of the Work Related Activities Group
(WRAG), unpaid. Once more the manager flatly denied the allegation. Later,
independently, another customer confirmed that the store was using WRAG claimants unpaid.
Although the details of this allegation will have to be confirmed, this shows
the potential depths profiteers will plunge to, not only to safeguard a source of unpaid
labour, but also to make sure their customers are not informed about the use of
unpaid labour by withholding information. One customer asked the manager what
was going on and he replied, “Oh, it’s just a protest.”
Asda, like many other food retailers, are
using unpaid workers. Yet, still, we do not know the scope of this exploitation
because the government refuses to release information via the so-called Freedom
of Information Act —because they can. An exemption in the Act allows the
government and its’ suppliers protection if there is a possibility commercial
interests may suffer due to a release of information under the Act. That’s why
the national Boycott Workfare campaign is asking people to find out (or sleuth)
what companies are using unpaid workers. If they won’t give us the information,
then we’ll find out for ourselves!
Unsurprisingly,
Merseyside Police announced a Section 14 on the Combat Workfare picket, which
decided to move at it’s own leisure, to the main-road entrance of the Sefton
Park Store, where we continued to talk with customers and hand out leaflets
until the early evening.
This
successful picket is part of a series of actions happening throughout June in
the run-up to the National Week of Action between the 7th & 14
of July. It is important that we disrupt the trade of these exploiters to the
point that they withdraw their participation in Workfare. This can only be done
through direct actions that take the struggle to the automatic doors of
Capitalism. Workfare is an attack on our Welfare and our Work; it
is a simultaneous attack on the waged and unwaged; and a component of the
global attack on the working classes.
Furthermore,
the fight-back against Workfare must be claimant-led and claimant-organized. If
you are a claimant wanting to take direct-action against Work Providers &
companies exploiting claimants as unpaid workers, then find out more
information at these sites:
For
more info on claimant rights visit:
Great picket.
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