DPAC solidarity appeal and actions

Wednesday 18th April 2012 (London) – Action around benefit cuts, care funding and Loss of Remploy jobs: meet at 13:30 Leicester Square McDonalds.

Thursday 19th April 2012 (London) – Public meeting – Fight the Remploy Closures: 7.30pm, ULU, Malet Street, London WC1E 7H . Speakers include: John McDonnell MP & Chair Right to Work campaign, Gail Cartmail, Unite Assistant General Secretary, Les Woodward, GMB National Convenor of Remploy; Rob Murthwaite, Disabled People Against the Cuts.

Friday 20th April 2012 (Sheffield) – National Demonstration – Lobby the DWP in Sheffield: Campaign to save Remploy factories
Assemble 12.30 for a 1pm start outside the Department of Work and Pensions office in Sheffield (Steel City House) at the junction of West Street, Church Street and Tripit Lane.

Statement from DPAC to SWAN:

On April 18th DPAC supported by UKUNCUT and others will be taking action in London once more to highlight the multiple atrocities and human rights abuses being perpetrated against disabled people by the unelected Condem Government. Taken together, the impact of these attacks against disabled people will destroy any possibility of independent living and move disability rights back 30 years or more. Once again disabled people will become trapped in their homes and unable to take an active part in activities that non-disabled people take for granted. They will slowly but surely ‘disappear’ from society.

DPAC will be joined in this protest by Remploy workers from around the country who are also being thrown onto the scrapheap by the Condems who are justifying closing 36 out of the 54 Remploy factories as being advised by the Sayce Review. The remaining factories will be privatised and sold off to the highest bidder. The factories earmarked for closure are being called unprofitable, however, bosses at the factories received £180 million in bonuses last year.

While DPAC obviously believe in the full inclusion of disabled people in society, we think the right place to start is to demand a legal right for disabled children to attend mainstream schools rather than to start by throwing adults who have worked in Remploy factories for many years onto the ever increasing dole queue. The last round of Remploy redundancies under the Labour government left over 90% of those made unemployed without any jobs or hope for their futures.’

Please send solidarity money to enable disabled activists to get to the London demo on Wednesday 18th April here.

Please also sign the petition against the closure of the Remploy Factories here.

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