Glasgow Archives

Protests and events Glasgow and Swansea (updated!)

Apr 152025

Upcoming Glasgow Action – Anas Sarwar MSP, Friday, April 18th

Friday, 18th April at Anas Sarwar’s Office at Brunswick House, 51 Wilson Street, Glasgow, G1 1UZ. We will be gathering at 12 noon.

Sarwar has made it explicitly clear that he is in support of the proposed Labour cuts to welfare and disability benefits – offering no viable alternative to disabled people in Scotland if Westminster’s cuts are successful. Successive Scottish and UK Governments have failed us.

We will be highlighting the real impact that his party’s cuts will have on people in Scotland, and the rest of the UK, of which he seems painfully unaware.

Please share widely, if you would like to speak or propose someone to speak, please let me know.

DPAC West of Scotland dpacwestofscotland@gmail.com

Swansea event, date to be confirmed

Labour MPs: no more insults – disabled people demand a debate!

Tired of being ignored, Swansea DPAC will soon be hosting a public debate, with or without our MPs.

We have zero faith in a so-called consultation process that starts out, on day one, outlining all the areas that it won’t be consulting on. There is one, and only one, public consultation process for the whole of Wales. Our MPs are not responding to our repeated attempts to contact them as constituents or as disabled people’s organisations.

We are particularly keen to publicly debate the Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, who has defended the cuts on Newsnight as a DWP minister, and who has been quite rude. From his keyboard, he has called disabled people “keyboard warriors” and a “burden”. We demand a “right of reply” – in person!

We thank our trade union friends for all of their support so far. At our last meeting, we were honoured to accept an invitation from Swansea Trades Council to speak at their May Day rally (see https://www.facebook.com/SwanseaTradesCouncil).

Disabled people know that we are not the only ones targeted by the government, as Reeves and Starmer take the hatchet to jobs, pay, and services everywhere.

Swansea Disabled People Against Cuts swanseadpac@gmail.com

Swansea May Day rally – Swansea DPAC to speak

DPAC Swansea raises high the trade union motto “an injury to one is an injury to all”

DPAC Swansea thanks our friends at Swansea Trades Council for the invitation. We know that we are not the only ones targeted by the government, as Reeves and Starmer take the hatchet to jobs, pay, and services everywhere.

We hope everyone will join us on 3rd May in Swansea.

Trades Union Councils: Swansea

Fight for a public sector Pay Rise!
Welfare not warfare!
Jobs, homes and services, not racism!

Join Swansea Trades Council for our annual May Day rally

Saturday 3rd May, 12 Noon Castle Square – Swansea

Hear speakers from across the movement

Trade Unionists
Anti-Racism Organisers
Disability Rights Activists
Community Campaigners

Bring members, family, friends, and your banners and placards.

BFAWU – CWU – Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) – Swansea – GMB – Unite – PCS – Unison – NASUWT

https://www.facebook.com/SwanseaTradesCouncil

Glasgow Against Atos Rolling Picket Fri 26th October

News 3 Responses »

Oct 252012

Glasgow Against Atos Rolling Picket

Friday 26 October

Assemble 12noon,

Outside the Atos testing centre,

Cadogan Street,

Corunna House

The rolling picket will start moving from the Atos test centre at 12.30pm. It will end back at the Atos centre at 2pm. A static picket of Atos maybe held after that by those still assembled. Bring family/friends, whistles and pots and pans, placards, banners and anything else which helps draw attention.

Glasgow Against Atos Action Planning Meeting

Wednesday 14 November,

7.30-9.30pm,

Downstairs in Bar Bacchus,

80 Glassford Street,

Glasgow G1 1UR

Protest group occupies government building in Glasgow

News No Responses »

Jun 232011

A protest group which occupied a government building said that disabled people were being labelled as “scroungers” during the cuts to public services.

The 16-strong group entered the public advice centre at an HM Revenue and Customs building in Glasgow and held up placards, shouting “No to the rich”.

Protesters gathered in George Square in the city centre before walking to the HMRC offices in Cochrane Street.

Peter Lockhart, 51, from Cowdenbeath in Fife, said:

“Disabled people are really suffering under this government. The disability allowance has been abolished.

“There are also all of these stories calling us scroungers. We are being used as scapegoats.

“The big corporations and the really wealthy are not paying their fair portion in taxes.

“They are putting their money in offshore accounts and tax havens. If the government went after them that would tackle the deficit.”

Mr Lockhart has been using a wheelchair since a car accident ten years ago. Around four people also stood outside the entrance to the building.

Protesters ended their occupation after around 40 minutes when police arrived and spoke with them.

John McArdle, from the Black Triangle anti-defamation campaign in defence of disability rights and who also joined the demonstration, said:

“Disabled people have been used as scapegoats in the mass media and labelled as workshy and scroungers. That is based on no empirical facts.

“We believe that these cuts are ideological. We reject the false narrative of there is no alternative.

“Disabled people are having their homecare cut, are being left without care to sit in their own excrement. They have fundamental human rights.”

Mr McArdle said the cuts breach the human rights of disabled people under the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He continued:

“We are protesting about a £120bn tax gap owed by corporations and private individuals.

“Why should disabled people suffer for a crisis that was caused by systemic flaws in the financial system?”

More info at STV

Report of the Atos Recruitment Evening Picket Glasgow

Events 1 Response »

Jun 072011

From The Crutch Collective

Over a period of 2 1/2 hours on Monday 6^th June around 50 people joined the picket, called by the Crutch Collective and Black Triangle, of the Atos Recruitment Evening in Glasgow. Some had travelled from Edinburgh and as far away as Berwick. Some officials of the PCS union were able to attend at the start and took away some leaflets. The admin. staff at Atos are members of PCS.

Atos picket at Glasgow

The police were present from early on and stopped people from blocking the doors. With a couple of exceptions most of the 20 or so doctors and nurses going into the Recruitment Evening ignored the request not to take jobs with Atos. This was despite being told of the people with cancer and terminal illnesses having their benefits cut by Atos and the suicides caused by the stress of the relentless and constant reassessment by Atos. They were also given leaflets detailing the fatal consequences of benefit changes as documented by several mental health charities. The leaflet also quoted a former Atos employee in Scotland who quit, because the medical assessments are designed to catch out disabled people.

A nurse heckled those inside through a megaphone. The leaflet was read out through the megaphone to the doctors and nurses waiting in the lobby and at the presentation.

Black Triangle

John McArdle of Black Triangle spoke to the crowd of the need to keep the campaign going until the medical assessments are carried out by a public body again. Plans were made for the next demo. A representative from Citizens United, another direct action orientated anti-cuts group in Glasgow expressed their desire to work with us in the future.

We got a clearer idea of the future some of us face as we chatted to some homeless people waiting for the Salvation Army food van who had also had their disability benefits cut despite having serious physical and mental health problems.

A handful of the doctors and nurses who attended the Recruitment Evening were escorted by the police through the crowd when they left by the main entrance. Debates were held about whether we should call them scabs or not. The rest had to sneak out via the staff exit like rats. No one was arrested and we were able to make our presence felt for the whole of the event. We are getting substantially bigger. We see the picket as a victory. Atos now know that any future recruitment evenings will need extra security and the presence of the police. The doctors and nurses who chose to forget their medical ethics and any social conscience had to endure the most unpleasant environment possible. The myth of the Atos PR about the ease and convenience of the Atos professional employee lifestyle has been destroyed.

Thanks again to everyone who attended and helped promote the picket.

Benefit Cuts Campaigners to Target Atos Recruitment

Action, Events, Politics No Responses »

May 302011

Details also at https://benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/

Placard with words 'Atos does not give a toss'

Quick calendar:

Glasgow 6th June between 6pm and 8pm.

Atos Medical Assessment Centre, Corunna House, 29 Cadogon Street, Glasgow

Plymouth Tuesday 7th June at 12.00 Midday

Atos Medical Centre, Marsh Mills, Argosy House

London Triton Sq Tuesday, June 14 · 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Atos Origin, 4 Triton Square, London, NW1 3HG

Islington: Thursday, September 29 · 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington N1 0QH

————————————

Disabled people, benefits claimants and supporters are to target recruitment events hosted by IT company Atos Origin. Pickets outside two events have been called so far where protesters have vowed to make sure potential Atos ‘Healthcare’ workers will know exactly how their future employers operate.

All claimants on health related benefits are set to be retested by Atos, using a computerised system which has seen thousands wrongly stripped of benefits and been described as ‘unfit for purpose’.

Atos rely on Doctors, nurses and midwives to carry out the tests – as one nurse, and former employee of Atos has said: “It’s against my principles to treat people with long term illnesses in such a disgusting way, so I had to give it up.

“People go into those interviews and talk openly to you because you are a nurse and they trust you.

“Then your skills are used against them, to take away their benefits and destroy their lives.”

Glasgow: The first protest will be held at the Atos Medical Assessment Centre, Corunna House, 29 Cadogon Street, Glasgow on Monday 6th June between 6pm and 8pm.

Plymouth: Private contractors Atos Healthcare ( sic ) are still carrying out benefit medicals at Argosy House, Marsh Mills , Plymouth. The DWP then use Atos’ reports to stop people’s benefits. The medicals and reports are flawed . The majority of those whose benefit is stopped and who go to appeal tribunal win and get the benefit back. ( in Oxford where they have a proper Welfare Rights service..92% win their appeal against DWP/ Atos)

Sadly many people cannot face the hassle of all this and give up and can be left destitute or worse. See Citizen’s Advice report ‘Not Working………’..March 2010 with evidence from before the new tougher test , it is even worse now.

On 11th May Plymouth Claimants Union organised a picket at Argosy House as part of the national day of action against benefrit cuts and to expose Atos’ part in this. A dozen or so people with disabilities , carers , trade unionists and other anti-cuts activists let the Atos quacks know we are out to expose them for what they are …parasites on poverty.

Keep the pressure on Atos – put people before profit.

Next picket at Argosy House Tuesday 7th June at 12.00 Midday

Further details and transport to Argosy House , contact plymouthclaimantsunion@yahoo.co.uk

Sam Bennett

Plymouth Claimants Union

0795 203 7290

London Triton Sq: Benefit claimants, disabled people and supporters will be attending Atos Healthcare’s Recruitment Day on June 14th at 5pm and have called on people to join them.

Bring bandages, fake blood, banners, placards, CVs, the noise.

Tuesday, June 14 · 5:00pm – 8:00pm

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=151206748281505

Atos Origin, 4 Triton Square, London, NW1 3HG

In the spirit of actively seeking work we will be demanding that if we are all ‘fit for work’ then Atos, notorious for a lack of disabled access in their premises, should consider us for employment directly.

Islington London: Protesters will also gather outside the BMJ Recruitment Fair on September 29th where Atos plan to exhibit: https://benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/protest-atos-origin-outside-the-bmj-recruitment-fair-29th-september/

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125516627524734

Poverty Pimps Atos Origin, the sharks responsible for the harrassment of sick and disabled claimants, are set to recruit hundreds of medical staff to carry out there notorious assessments on everyone receiving Incapacity Benefit.
…
As part of this Atos will be having a stall at the annual BMJ Recruitment Fair in Islington Design Centre on 29th/30th September.

A protest has been called outside on the 29th where we will be not just demonstrating but handing out information to potential recruits on the devastation these tests have caused to the health of already vulnerable people.

“Please come and see us at stand 54 of the BMJ Careers Fair” say Atos on their website. Ok then we will.

https://www.atoshealthcarejobs.co.uk/events.html

Atos will also be exhibiting at the RCN Bulletin Jobs Fair at the same venue on 13/14th September and the CSP Congress in Liverpool on October in Liverpool on 7/8th October. We might go and see them there too.

The BMJ Recruitment Fairs Website is at: https://careersfair.bmj.com/en/1/home.html

No doubt a whole host of private companies itching to get their hands on the NHS will be recruiting there as well. We might have a chat with a few of them as well.

Atos are carrying out more recruitment events around the country. You can find details at: https://www.atoshealthcarejobs.co.uk/events.html