A plague of anarchosyndicalists descends on Portsmouth Poundland 2nd of March 2013.

To get everyone in the mood for SolFed’s southern regional conference, host local Solent called a flash picket of the devious workfare provider on Commercial road; A joint action with CNT-AIT Caen France, Forest of Dean Anarchists, Wessex Solidarity and other comrades.

Poundland’s repeated protestations that they have given up the DWP’s slave labour scheme have proved to be worthless. As always, we talked to the staff and handed them some literature: the stakes were raised somewhat as it turned out two of them were working for JSA (about £2 an hour). It was only fair to share this information with the Saturday morning shoppers, and it was enough to put most of them off.

Bit of déjà vu for Holland and Barrett but they just happened to be next door and there wasn’t room for us all to stand outside Poundland’s shop window. Passers by were mostly friendly including some passing Trots, who were impressed with our level of organisation! Cheers comrades, did you know it was the 92nd anniversary of the start of the Kronstadt Rebellion?

From thence to our secret conference venue, multiple breakfasts and plotting the downfall of the bourgeoisie. The day rounded off with a sociable evening of radical folk, punk & noise. You should have been there!

2012: a year in the life of SolFed.

Solidarity Federation at the London Anarchist Bookfair

The Solidarity Federation will be at the London Anarchist Bookfair again this year. It will be the first place you can get your hands on our new pamphlet ‘Fighting for ourselves: anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle’. Our other publications will also be available alongside books, posters and tshirts. This year the Solidarity Federation will be presenting the following talks:

Nobody Expects The Solidarity Federation! – Room 318, 11-12

Stuff Your Sexist Boss – Room 326, 2-3

Introduction to Anarcho-Syndicalism – Room 323, 4-5

Don’t Just Moan, Organise! An introduction to the Solidarity Federation Workplace Organiser Training Programme – Room 321, 5-6

Bournemouth and Poole College and “try before you buy” workfare slaves.

“Trades unions and community groups have called on the Bournemouth and Poole College to withdraw its support for the government’s discredited Work Programme which seeks to coerce the unemployed into unpaid work, after it emerged the college was encouraging employers on their website to “Try before you buy” – describing the unemployed as expendable commodities.”

From Bournemouth and Poole Anti Cuts Coalition (BPACC): –

College criticised for backing Workfare programme

It seems that The Bournemouth and Poole College Students’ Union are supporting this, either unwilling or unable to condemn such practise from the College; when the chance to comment was offered to BPC SU via Facebook, they chose to delete the post (Click to enlarge):

Surely they don’t represent the views of real students – who could just as easily starve to death with their feet up! Dorset has 3,635 residents claiming jobseeker’s allowance and just 2,111 listed vacancies, according to latest figures. – Get in touch if you want to do something about it.

B.P.A.C.C. plan to “target the college with a wave of protests if it refuses to distance itself from the Work Programme.”

Having stuffed it up Holland & Barrett our flying pickets are getting restless… We’re in!

Victory over H&B and start of the week of action against Workfare.

Following the sudden caving in of Holland and Barrett, our local anti-workfare group convened outside a branch of Argos in Poole. A diverse range of activists’ groups answered the call out and our peaceful picket commenced, following the usual format:

Reassurance was given to staff and a letter explaining the action along with a copy of Solfed’s Workfare Pamphlet. We had the usual mixed response we get round here: some are already affected by this, some are worried about it, some ignorant but interested, some right right behind us and a few “I’m all right Jack, bugger off”.

After a while we were joined by some sinister black-clad figures who scowled a great deal to no good purpose; they turned out to be the security prats from the nearby Dolphin Centre arcade; a good-natured plod appeared and basically told them to mind their own business as we were doing nothing illegal.

After the picket we took a short-cut through the Dolphin Centre on our way for a coffee, and found ourselves followed by a crowd of the aforementioned prats who were evidently desperate to have a row, near the exit, for some inexplicable reason, several comrades were assaulted, including a grandmother and a teenage girl.

We had resolved to maintain Boycott Workfare and SolFed’s strategy of peaceful protest – which is clearly working – and with Holland and Barrett’s spurious claims of violence  uppermost in our minds, we took great care not to harm any of these buffoons, making it our priority to just get everyone out of there safely – though they really were asking for it.

Anyway they did us a big favour because the gathering crowd were suddenly interested to hear all about our protest and the workfare campaign.

We’ll be back!

Keep up the pressure on Holland & Barrett!

The usual suspects will be conducting a picket of the hypocritical workfare slave-mongers in the Poole area on 7th July. If you’d like to be involved contact us

A spur of the moment picket was called by Bournemouth Uncut and Occupy in solidarity with comrades in Liverpool on Saturday 23rd. It was well attended, supported by members of BPACC and Solent Solfed. Two shops picketed; police called in relation to attachment of flags and placards to street furniture, despite the plethora of bunting and advertising material in the precinct – we were only asked to take it with us when we’d finished.

At the arcade, the security prat in the jeweller’s next door asked us to  go outside (there were two entrances, one inside, one out), another prat in a suit came out, he was asked to prove that he was an agent for the landowner. After variously claiming to be the owner, chairman of the committee and some company he couldn’t name, he “couldn’t be bothered to argue” and went back in to call the police – which he didn’t – so there you go.

    

   

How Do We Break Workfare? – Report from National Conference.

On Saturday 26 May, nearly fifty anti-workfare activists met up in Brighton for a national conference entitled ‘How do we break workfare?’; hosted by Brighton benefits campaign

Participants came from Liverpool, Norfolk, Oxford, Dorset, London, Surrey and Sussex as well as Brighton and Hove.  They represented welfare and anti-cuts campaigns, claimant organisations, political groups and trade unions, as well as many individuals opposed to workfare.

Here’s the full report from the B.B.C. website:

Casual labour and unpaid work

Casual labour and unpaid work – by Kevin Smith

Holland & Barrett pickets.

H&B really are taking the piss; having announced that no less than a quarter of their workforce is to be unpaid – and heavily subsidised by the taxpayer through the offices of Chris Grayling’s mendacious cronies.

So it was with some relish that we descended on our local purveyors of quack remedies to neurotic old hippies. Under the banner of Wessex Solidarity, members of IWW, Solent Solfed, Portsmouth Anarchists, Bournemouth Uncut and Surrey/Hants Afed picketed two branches of this bogus medicine show, later we were joined by a couple of SWP. A letter was handed to staff explaining the action along with a copy of Solfed’s Workfare Pamphlet.

Our ginger ninja on the megaphone harangued passers-by with her acidic wit while the punters scurried in in search of cures for their creaky joints, failing eyesight and uncompliant third leg.

The manager showed up: “are you allowed to be here?” What? On a pavement in a shopping precinct on a Saturday! He claimed to be ‘creating jobs’ then bemoaned the fact that we were going to cost him his £59 bonus; we were all set to move on to the next one when we found out he’d called the plod with some spurious allegations so we had to hang around on principle. “Who’s in charge?” – where do they get it from? Our letter now in the hands of babylon we can all expect some traffic on our web sites over the next few days.

As time was cracking on the group then split, a second H&B was picketed while Bournemouth uncut did their thing at vodafone. Having run out of fliers we reunited in top shop on our way to the pub; we brightened up when the guvnor announced security were going to “remove us using force” but they evidently didn’t fancy it and called plod again. I think it was the same copper, they all look the same to me.

One thing that struck us from talking to people was how many posties there are who are pissed off with their jobs and their union. if any CWU members are reading this give us a shout and we’ll put you in touch with others who want to do something – and don’t forget the picket of CWU headquarters on Monday!

A las Barricadas…

March 31st day of action against workfare!

 

In support of the three days of action against austerity called by the International Workers’ Association and the M31 European day of action against capitalism called by various groups.

We intend a picket/leaflet of one of the national firms participating in a workfare scheme, in the Bournemouth area. This will be followed by a communications blockade on the 2nd. The lucky recipient of our attentions will be revealed in due course – watch this space – but I bet you’ve got a pretty good idea! This is a nationwide initiative originating from the Solidarity Federation but now taken up by a wide range of anti-workfare groups across the country.

March 31st day of action against workfare

Provisional meeting point Flirt Cafe Bar 11:00.

Unit 1, 21 The Triangle, BH2 5RG Bournemouth Dorset

Get Directions 

 

This is intended as a non-sectarian demonstration of working class unity, so please invite anyone you think would like to come.

More info:

Factsheet: 5 kinds of workfare

 

Boycott workfare site

 

We’ll have flyers from various organisations but everyone is free to bring their own, see here:

 

Flyers for workfare      Workfare Pamphlet SF

 

Update on FOI requests