At a tme when 2.

47 million people are out of work, and the rato of

jobseekers to unflled vacancies stands at 4:1 across the UK, the government
is tghtening the screws on unemployed people even further. Not content
with its current sanctons regime, the government is rolling out what it calls
a Claimant Commitment. This will replace the Jobseekers Agreement for all
new JSA claimants by April 2014. Heralding the Commitments introducton
at the Tory Party conference, Employment Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said
For those who arent doing all they could, or who we think are cheatng the
system, it is tme to make clear that enough is enoughno longer will a life
on benefts be an opton if you can work. He clearly hasn't tried to live of
benefts or dealt with the punitve JSA system.
Stop punishing the unemployed!
We refuse to pay for their capitalist crisis!
580,000 claimants have lost beneft
under the new sanctons regime,
and in 48,000 cases, for three years.
The DWP says that looking for work should be a full-tme job. The
Claimant Commitment involves a strict compliance regime, under
which claimants can be required to undertake up to 35 hours a week of
job-searching, or any other actvity a Jobcentre job coach thinks is ap-
propriate. The Commitment will be even more oppressive than the ex-
istng set of sanctons introduced in October 2012. Under these, 580,000
claimants have lost beneft, and in 48,000 cases, for three years.

Other actvites that a claimant may be expected to undertake will in-
clude work-focused interviews whenever and wherever a jobcentre
decides; work preparaton actvites, which are designed to force those
with sicknesses or disabilites into a health care regime dictated by the
jobcentre; and meetng a work availability requirement, where a claim-
ant has to accept employment immediately, regardless of its suitability,
or the level of pay and conditons. There is no extra provision for the bus
fares, internet and phone costs, or other expenses incurred looking for a
job 35 hours every week.
Benefits Are Under Attack.
Fight Back!
If a claimant breaks any part of their Commitment,
they will be subject to sanctons which will mean a deducton, penalty
or suspension of all their benefts. A claimant receiving three sanctons
can see their beneft stopped entrely for up to three years. Sanctons
can be medium or high level; medium level can result from things like
failing to apply for the agreed number of jobs each week (even if there
are no new jobs available), failing to turn up to a job interview, or even
just being sulky and uncommunicatve in an interview.

Claimants can be sanctoned for the most absurd of reasons. Birming-
ham Communites Against the Cuts reported, cites these examples Its
Christmas Day. You dont do any jobsearch, because its Christmas Day.
So you get sanctoned; You get a job interview, its at the same tme
as your JCP appointment, so you rearrange your JCP appointment ...
You atend your rearranged appointment then get a leter saying your
benefts will be stopped because going to a job interview is not a good
enough reason for missing an appointment.

Claimants have a fve-day window to appeal against any sancton in
which they must show good cause for their failure to meet the rules
of their Commitment, a vague term open to prejudiced interpretaton.
In the meantme all they will be able to get is a hardship loan which
they will have to pay back. The current sanctons regime is already a
major contributor to the massive rise in the use of food banks: the
number of people referred to the Trussell Trust between April and Sep-
tember 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, a total of 350,000
people. It will only get worse with the Claimant Commitment.

Enough already! Organise against beneft
cuts and sanctons. An injury to one
is an injury to all!
What to do if you have been sanctoned:
1) Challenge it! You have fve days to explain why you have 'good cause'. You
frst write, or phone, the DWP ofce that made the decision, and say you
want a reconsideraton. There is a new rule that you have to do this before
you can appeal. If you write, you need to give your name, natonal insurance
number, address, the date the decision was made, and which beneft you
were claiming. If you can get enough informaton to prove the sancton was
not in accord with the beneft rules, you might be able to get the decision
changed at the reconsideraton stage. If your Claimant Commitment or
Jobseeker's Agreement has been fxed by your job centre adviser to be some-
thing you couldnt do, or difcult to sustain, you could get the decision
changed because it is unreasonable
2)Apply for a hardship paymentdemand an applicaton form at the Job Cen-
tre you may ft into the criteria of being 'vulnerable' meaning that you
should receive your hardship payment sooner, check the criteria at the job
centre.
3)Inform the revenues and benefts ofcetake proof of the sancton to your
local housing ofce as soon as possible, tell them you have no other income.
Housing Beneft and council tax reducton will be stopped following a sanc-
ton untl you provide up to date informaton about your new weekly income
to prevent any possible overpayments. If you do nothing you may end up
with rent and council tax arrears, which may lead to legal acton.
4)Contnue signing on, even though you are not getng paid. If you dont, or
if you don't comply with your Jobseeker's Agreement or Claimant commit-
ment, you could lose your beneft for a longer period and your Housing Bene-
ft may also be afected.
5) Organise with other claimants to fght back! Our greatest strength lies in
numbers and organisaton. Contact Newcastle Unite Community Branch to
take acton against sanctons.
Email: craigycricket@yahoo.co.uk or yllknhj@hotmail.co.uk
Phone: 07513618636 or 077869 43143