RPU Pleased With Back to School Action

• The “impact” promotion for Rotorua social security claimants on 23rd, 24th & 25th of November last year was still a big success overall, even though many missed out due to a lack of resources that should have been supplied by Work & Income. This time around it is expected that more people will be seen with less waiting time because of the increased cooperation of Work & Income with the Rotorua Peoples Union this time round.

• The government and the Minister of Social Development have announced that they will be pushing domestic purposes beneficiaries, into actively seeking employment under pain of having their incomes cut or terminated. This is a populist drum thumping policy that seems to be based on National’s belief that forcing sole parent mums into minimum wage jobs gets more votes than taking real action on structural youth unemployment.

• As part of a fight back campaign the Rotorua Peoples Union is hosting the Back to School IMPACT outside Work & Income in Pukuatua St Rotorua Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, February 15th, 16th & 17th.

• There will be a team of skilled beneficiary advocates and lawyers assisting all comers to obtain food grants, advances on benefit for essential household items and to ensure everyone is receiving their full and correct entitlements under the law. At this time of year there are school uniforms, school fees, school camps and school books all hurting struggling families with additional costs.

• There may be other bigger recessions around the corner and unemployed and social security claimants need to get organised politically. Currently they are a very vulnerable group open to government attacks. The RPU is working to organise Rotorua beneficiaries into a political force. We’ve got lobby groups like Grey Power, now we need “Unemployed Action” and “DPB Power” to unite and form a growing political resistance against attacks on their welfare and human rights.

• Social Security Claimants must not allow themselves to be treated as second class citizens and under Labour or National in New Zealand, that means organising direct action resistance.

• Shutting down on food grants and other legitimate social security claims would be to ignore, and abuse, the important contribution that social security spending makes to the economy and to economic recovery in times of recession.

• The RPU is calling on the low-waged, the unemployed, sole parent and other social security recipients in Rotorua, Ngongotaha and Murupara to rally to the Impact this 15th, 16th & 17th February 2010, to test all their entitlements and to take advantage of the increased non-recoverable food grant entitlements available to them.

• There are more than 1 million New Zealanders that in some way or another directly rely on social security benefits for survival. To demonise 25% of our population makes no sense whatsoever. We are all in this together.

• The RPU hopes to utilise the IMPACT as a rallying call to all domestic purposes and unemployment beneficiaries in Rotorua to unite as a political force, to organise street demonstrations and show opposition to the planned attacks on their rights.

ENDS

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