Let The Atos Games Begin!
Posted on Sun 26th Aug 2012, 5:00pmThis is a guest blog from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)
On your marks, get set… for a week of Paralympic fun and games against Atos!
From Monday 27th to Friday 31st of August, join Disabled People Against Cuts for The Atos Games – five days of action against a company that’s sponsoring the Paralympics but wrecking disabled people’s lives.
We are calling on disabled people, disabled activists, families, colleagues, friends and supporters to come together and fight back against Atos’s attacks. Atos represents as dangerous an opponent as any government, law or barrier the disability movement has faced in its long history. It’s not just welfare, but our very identity and our place within society that is under attack.
And we are asking the whole of the anti-cuts movement to join us in our opposition to the company most responsible for driving through the government’s brutal cuts agenda. Let’s make it Games over for Atos!
We’re not against the Paralympics or the people taking part in it. We’re highlighting the hypocrisy of Atos, a company that soon may be taking disability benefits from the people winning medals for Team GB.
Ever since George Osborne announced he was slashing £18 billion from the welfare budget, the government has paid Atos £100 million a year to test 11,000 sick and disabled people every week, then decide whether they’re ‘fit for work’.
Atos uses an inhumane computer programme to do the testing, and trains its staff to push people off benefits. The government has admitted the tests are flawed, and the British Medical Association has demanded they end immediately.
But Atos continues to devastate people’s lives. Many have committed suicide because of its testing programme, and over 1,000 people have died of their illnesses soon after being found ‘fit for work’.
We won’t let them get away with murder, so join in The Atos Games however you can – online, on the phone, or on the streets!
Monday 27th: The Atos Games Opening Ceremony and spoof Paralympic awards ceremony, with some very special guests… Meet at City Hall, London, at 5:30pm.
Tuesday 28th: Actions at Atos centres all over the country - find your nearest one here.
Wednesday 29th: A coffin full of your messages about Atos will be delivered to its doorstep. Meet at Triton Square, London, at 3:30pm.
Thursday 30th: Phone jam! Let’s flood Atos with calls, and generate a Twitter-storm they can’t ignore!
Then on Friday 31st, join us in London where we’re teaming up with UK Uncut for the grand finale, The Closing Atos Ceremony – an audacious, daring and disruptive action. Last time we shut down Oxford Circus, this time we will be performing miracles…!
We'll be posting daily action updates throughout the week, building up to the action on Friday at Atos HQ. We’ll also be making sure that DPAC members, and disabled or sick people who can’t travel will be able to take part in different and accessible ways.
We need YOU to make this week of action a great success! So time to get one, or all of the above dates in your diary. And don't forget, Atos has offices in most towns across the country, so check out the UK Uncut or DPAC websites for actions at your local Atos on the 28th!
Now is the time to come together and show this monstrous company that we are stronger than them. We won't let them use the Paralympics to disguise their devastating actions, instead let's use it to expose the ghastly truth. They’re the vulnerable ones and they know it.
Let the Atos Games begin!
On your marks, get set… for a week of Paralympic fun and games against Atos!
From Monday 27th to Friday 31st of August, join Disabled People Against Cuts for The Atos Games – five days of action against a company that’s sponsoring the Paralympics but wrecking disabled people’s lives.
We are calling on disabled people, disabled activists, families, colleagues, friends and supporters to come together and fight back against Atos’s attacks. Atos represents as dangerous an opponent as any government, law or barrier the disability movement has faced in its long history. It’s not just welfare, but our very identity and our place within society that is under attack.
And we are asking the whole of the anti-cuts movement to join us in our opposition to the company most responsible for driving through the government’s brutal cuts agenda. Let’s make it Games over for Atos!
We’re not against the Paralympics or the people taking part in it. We’re highlighting the hypocrisy of Atos, a company that soon may be taking disability benefits from the people winning medals for Team GB.
Ever since George Osborne announced he was slashing £18 billion from the welfare budget, the government has paid Atos £100 million a year to test 11,000 sick and disabled people every week, then decide whether they’re ‘fit for work’.
Atos uses an inhumane computer programme to do the testing, and trains its staff to push people off benefits. The government has admitted the tests are flawed, and the British Medical Association has demanded they end immediately.
But Atos continues to devastate people’s lives. Many have committed suicide because of its testing programme, and over 1,000 people have died of their illnesses soon after being found ‘fit for work’.
We won’t let them get away with murder, so join in The Atos Games however you can – online, on the phone, or on the streets!
Monday 27th: The Atos Games Opening Ceremony and spoof Paralympic awards ceremony, with some very special guests… Meet at City Hall, London, at 5:30pm.
Tuesday 28th: Actions at Atos centres all over the country - find your nearest one here.
Wednesday 29th: A coffin full of your messages about Atos will be delivered to its doorstep. Meet at Triton Square, London, at 3:30pm.
Thursday 30th: Phone jam! Let’s flood Atos with calls, and generate a Twitter-storm they can’t ignore!
We need YOU to make this week of action a great success! So time to get one, or all of the above dates in your diary. And don't forget, Atos has offices in most towns across the country, so check out the UK Uncut or DPAC websites for actions at your local Atos on the 28th!
Now is the time to come together and show this monstrous company that we are stronger than them. We won't let them use the Paralympics to disguise their devastating actions, instead let's use it to expose the ghastly truth. They’re the vulnerable ones and they know it.
Let the Atos Games begin!
The Closing Atos Ceremony - (flat subs) from morelikewater on Vimeo.
Press release: Gold winning former Paralympian joins Disabled activists to target Atos
Posted on Thu 23rd Aug 2012, 10:00amFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press enquiries:
UK Uncut: Tel: 07415063231 | Email: ukuncut@gmail.com | DPAC: Tel: 07508 983 610 | Email: maildpac.uk.net
Former gold-medal winning Paralympian to join UK Uncut [1] and Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) [2] at ‘The Closing Atos Ceremony’.
The two groups have vowed to shut down Atos’ HQ at Triton Square in Central London during the Paralympic Games; promising direct action, creative protest and ‘plenty of surprises’. The action will be taking place on Friday 31st August at 12:45pm.
Tara Flood, a gold-winning former Paralympian [3] has come out in support of the campaign against Atos, saying:
“It is a shocking irony that Atos is a main sponsor of London 2012 whilst destroying disabled people’s lives on behalf of the government.”
‘The Closing Atos Ceremony’ is the culmination of a week of protests organised by disabled activists targeting Paralympic sponsor Atos. The week of action, dubbed the ‘Atos Games’, will also include protests at Atos centres around the country [4], and disabled activists will be delivering a coffin full of messages to Atos from people affected by their much criticised Work Capability Assessments (WCA).
Atos have come under fierce scrutiny for their handling of the Department of Work and Pensions £100 million a year contract, assessing whether claimants for incapacity benefits are ‘fit for work’. Last year 1,100 claimants died while under compulsory work-related activity for benefit [5]; and a number of those found ‘fit for work’ and left without income have committed or attempted suicide [6]. A recent episode of Dispatches [7] revealed Atos staff being pressured into unfairly declaring people ‘fit for work’ in order to fulfil targets.
The British Medical Association [8], disabled groups, and MPs [9] have all demanded the work capability assessments end with immediate effect. The High Court also recently granted permission for two disabled people to bring a claim for judicial review against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, challenging the operation of the WCA [10].
Paddy Murphy, a spokesperson from DPAC said:
‘By sponsoring the Paralympics, ATOS is trying to give the impression of supporting disabled people. Don't be fooled. They receive hundreds of millions of pounds while many disabled people are being forced to live in abject poverty because of their decisions. This is just another opportunity for them to ‘cash-in’. But we aren't going to let them off the hook. We will make sure everyone knows what they are about.
We are challenging Atos in the courts, in parliament, online, on the streets and now at the Paralympics. The work capability assessment must end now.’
Lisa Cunningham, a UK Uncut activist said:
‘People directly affected by Atos assessments are making their anger and fear heard through an act of creative and disruptive civil disobedience. UK Uncut will be joining them to demand an end to Atos’ inhumane tests. The Government's cuts are killing the economy, and in the case of the cuts to welfare enforced by Atos, they are killing people.
We’re not against the Paralympics. We are against the hypocrisy of Atos’ involvement, when they may soon be removing disability benefits from the people winning medals for Britain.’
ENDS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes to editors:
Disabled people who have undergone Atos’ WCA are available to talk to the media, please contact the UK Uncut media phone for details.
Please contact UK Uncut or DPAC for more details about other events and actions during the week.
[1] UK Uncut is a grassroots anti-cuts direct action network, well-known for targeting corporate tax avoidance: ukuncut.org.uk
[2] DPAC is a volunteer campaign network of and for disabled people campaigning for equality and human rights for all disabled people: dpac.uk.net/about
[3] After representing GB at three Paralympic Games, Tara retired from competitive swimming in 1992 when she achieved a World Record in 50m Breaststroke at the Barcelona Games – a record that still stands. Tara will be available to speak to media at the event on Friday, and at another on Monday 27 August, please contact DPAC for details.
[4] http://ukuncut.org.uk/actions
[5] http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2012/04/32-die-a-week-after-failing-in.html
[6] http://poultonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/03/people-are-choosing-suicide-to-escape-poverty-is-this-the-states-final-solution.html
[7] http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/britain-on-the-sick-reporter-feature
[8] http://bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2012/june/scrap-work-capability-assessment-doctors-demand
[9] http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/295
[10] http://atosvictimsgroup.co.uk/2012/07/26/judicial-review-of-work-capability-assessment-granted/
Press enquiries:
UK Uncut: Tel: 07415063231 | Email: ukuncut@gmail.com | DPAC: Tel: 07508 983 610 | Email: maildpac.uk.net
Former gold-medal winning Paralympian to join UK Uncut [1] and Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) [2] at ‘The Closing Atos Ceremony’.
The two groups have vowed to shut down Atos’ HQ at Triton Square in Central London during the Paralympic Games; promising direct action, creative protest and ‘plenty of surprises’. The action will be taking place on Friday 31st August at 12:45pm.
Tara Flood, a gold-winning former Paralympian [3] has come out in support of the campaign against Atos, saying:
“It is a shocking irony that Atos is a main sponsor of London 2012 whilst destroying disabled people’s lives on behalf of the government.”
‘The Closing Atos Ceremony’ is the culmination of a week of protests organised by disabled activists targeting Paralympic sponsor Atos. The week of action, dubbed the ‘Atos Games’, will also include protests at Atos centres around the country [4], and disabled activists will be delivering a coffin full of messages to Atos from people affected by their much criticised Work Capability Assessments (WCA).
Atos have come under fierce scrutiny for their handling of the Department of Work and Pensions £100 million a year contract, assessing whether claimants for incapacity benefits are ‘fit for work’. Last year 1,100 claimants died while under compulsory work-related activity for benefit [5]; and a number of those found ‘fit for work’ and left without income have committed or attempted suicide [6]. A recent episode of Dispatches [7] revealed Atos staff being pressured into unfairly declaring people ‘fit for work’ in order to fulfil targets.
The British Medical Association [8], disabled groups, and MPs [9] have all demanded the work capability assessments end with immediate effect. The High Court also recently granted permission for two disabled people to bring a claim for judicial review against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, challenging the operation of the WCA [10].
Paddy Murphy, a spokesperson from DPAC said:
‘By sponsoring the Paralympics, ATOS is trying to give the impression of supporting disabled people. Don't be fooled. They receive hundreds of millions of pounds while many disabled people are being forced to live in abject poverty because of their decisions. This is just another opportunity for them to ‘cash-in’. But we aren't going to let them off the hook. We will make sure everyone knows what they are about.
We are challenging Atos in the courts, in parliament, online, on the streets and now at the Paralympics. The work capability assessment must end now.’
Lisa Cunningham, a UK Uncut activist said:
‘People directly affected by Atos assessments are making their anger and fear heard through an act of creative and disruptive civil disobedience. UK Uncut will be joining them to demand an end to Atos’ inhumane tests. The Government's cuts are killing the economy, and in the case of the cuts to welfare enforced by Atos, they are killing people.
We’re not against the Paralympics. We are against the hypocrisy of Atos’ involvement, when they may soon be removing disability benefits from the people winning medals for Britain.’
ENDS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes to editors:
Disabled people who have undergone Atos’ WCA are available to talk to the media, please contact the UK Uncut media phone for details.
Please contact UK Uncut or DPAC for more details about other events and actions during the week.
[1] UK Uncut is a grassroots anti-cuts direct action network, well-known for targeting corporate tax avoidance: ukuncut.org.uk
[2] DPAC is a volunteer campaign network of and for disabled people campaigning for equality and human rights for all disabled people: dpac.uk.net/about
[3] After representing GB at three Paralympic Games, Tara retired from competitive swimming in 1992 when she achieved a World Record in 50m Breaststroke at the Barcelona Games – a record that still stands. Tara will be available to speak to media at the event on Friday, and at another on Monday 27 August, please contact DPAC for details.
[4] http://ukuncut.org.uk/actions
[5] http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2012/04/32-die-a-week-after-failing-in.html
[6] http://poultonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/03/people-are-choosing-suicide-to-escape-poverty-is-this-the-states-final-solution.html
[7] http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/britain-on-the-sick-reporter-feature
[8] http://bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2012/june/scrap-work-capability-assessment-doctors-demand
[9] http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/295
[10] http://atosvictimsgroup.co.uk/2012/07/26/judicial-review-of-work-capability-assessment-granted/
Join DPAC's actions against Atos on 28 August
Posted on Sat 18th Aug 2012, 7:00pmAs part of Disabled People Against the Cuts' week of action against Atos, The Atos Games, DPAC groups are targeting local Atos centres all over the country.
And they are calling on the rest of the anti-cuts movement to join them in taking action against the company most responsible for driving through the government’s brutal cuts agenda.
Join the flashmob protests, let’s make it Games over for Atos!
Tuesday 28 August
Birmingham
Edinburgh
Lancaster
Bournemouth
Bristol
Derby
Hull
Liverpool
Leeds
Manchester
Newcastle
Stroud
Northampton
Plymouth
Sheffield
Southampton
Swansea
Wednesday 29 August
Cardiff
No action near you? Why not organise one? All Atos centres can be found here and tips on organising an action can be found here.
And then join DPAC and UK Uncut for the grand finale, the Closing Atos Ceremony in London on Friday 31 for direct action, creative protest, and plenty of surprises...
There will be lots of ways to be involved throughout the week, keep checking the DPAC website for updates.
See you on the streets!
And they are calling on the rest of the anti-cuts movement to join them in taking action against the company most responsible for driving through the government’s brutal cuts agenda.
Join the flashmob protests, let’s make it Games over for Atos!
Tuesday 28 August
Birmingham
Edinburgh
Lancaster
Bournemouth
Bristol
Derby
Hull
Liverpool
Leeds
Manchester
Newcastle
Stroud
Northampton
Plymouth
Sheffield
Southampton
Swansea
Wednesday 29 August
Cardiff
No action near you? Why not organise one? All Atos centres can be found here and tips on organising an action can be found here.
There will be lots of ways to be involved throughout the week, keep checking the DPAC website for updates.
See you on the streets!