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Boycott Workfare call for sanction stories

Boycott Workfare outside Policy Exchange after "ruining" their event

Boycott Workfare outside Policy Exchange after “ruining” their event

In return for supporting the passage of a retrospective law to steal £130 million from claimants who were illegally sanctioned, the Labour party were promised by the government that there would be an independent investigation into the sanction process. Of course, we expect little from an investigation that came at the price of justice for claimants. With no space for claimants to actually submit their concerns and experiences, the views of claimants will be not be represented.

With your help, Boycott Workfare would like to highlight the devastating impact that benefit sanctions are having on people’s lives. Collecting together your experiences of benefit sanctions we will be putting together a sanctions zine. Email us your words, however many or few you want to use. Things you may want to include may be:

– the length of the sanction

– the ‘reason’ the Job Centre gave for imposing the sanction and how they told you this ‘reason’

– how it affected your life, including its impact on your physical and mental health, your family and friendships

– how you coped during this time

– and how you are doing now e.g. still claiming JSA, stopped signing on, signing on to a different benefit, stress/worry about further sanctions etc.

– perhaps you have not been sanctioned, but have been bullied and threatened with sanctions

Email us at info@boycottworkfare.org

Feel free also to submit drawings and get in touch if you have any other ideas or suggestions. We also welcome submissions from those who are indirectly affected by benefit sanctions, such as welfare activists, welfare advisors and those involved in the Civil Service Rank and File Network.

We look forward to reading your submissions!