DWP employees: Do the right thing – because Iain Duncan Smith never will
The effect of Iain Duncan Smith’s ‘welfare reforms’ should, by now, be plain for all to see: Increased poverty – including child poverty, the torture of starvation for people who have been sanctioned off of benefit and cannot afford food, hopelessness, despair, suicide.
We saw the signs as long ago as 2012, when the man we call RTU (Return To Unit) and SNLR (Services No Longer Required) launched his famous rant on the subject against Owen Jones.
This blog reported it at the time: “Irately wagging his finger in Mr Jones’s general direction, he barked: ‘We’ve heard a lot from you. I didn’t hear you screaming about two and a half million people who were parked, nobody saw them, for over 10 years, not working, no hope, no aspiration. We are changing their lives; I’m proud of doing that. Getting them off-benefit is what we’re going to do.'”
Establishment figures like David Dimbleby, it seems, wanted us to take this at face value – that the Secretary-in-a-State was going to put people to work (whether they liked it or not).
Now we know that wasn’t what he meant.
He meant he was going to force people off benefit by perverting the system in the worst way possible. He was going to order his staff to find any slight excuse to inflict benefit sanctions on society’s most vulnerable.
As we read today, “Unlike benefit delays, where in theory claimants can receive backdated payments to cover the period when they were without income, sanctions left already vulnerable recipients struggling with a massive hole in their finances which they had often filled with expensive credit, trapping them in a cycle of debt.”
Iain Duncan Smith has encouraged his staff to sanction people using “unjust, potentially fraudulent reasons”.
He has inflicted torture on the innocent, in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
His benefit assessors practice “chequebook euthanasia” – when claimants say they have suicidal thoughts, they are asked why they have not yet killed themselves.
And sometimes he just condemns people to die in the cold. Note that Job Centre staff – like Nazi soldiers – use the so-called ‘Nuremberg defence’ for their actions; they were “only following orders”.
Take this comparison to its logical conclusion and Iain Duncan Smith may be compared with Hitler; the unemployed, sick and disabled are his Jews, Romanies, sick and disabled; and the whole of the UK is his extermination camp.
But a general election is coming and the Conservatives are not expected to win. Will Iain Duncan Smith take Hitler’s way out?
Fat chance!
He’ll probably try to cover his tracks, too.
So let us appeal to all DWP personnel: Here’s your chance to get something worthwhile from the last five years!
It is time to start copying information. Iain Duncan Smith will want to cover up all his dirty little secrets and it is likely that his shredder will be working day and night if he thinks someone else might discover any inconvenient truths.
If there are any inconvenient truths, then as servants of the country – rather than servants of the Conservatives or the Secretary of State – it is your duty to collect this evidence, preserve it and bring it forward after he has been ousted.
Nobody can order you to do this. Undoubtedly you will be discouraged from doing it; there are likely to be rules that say you must not, invoking the same national interest that Yr Obdt Srvt is invoking here.
This is a matter for your conscience.
Do you think Iain Duncan Smith and his associates should be allowed to go unpunished for the harm they have caused?
Do what you think is right.
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Don’t Forget to SIGN https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/investigate-ids-for-lies
Lets DEMAND KATHRYN HUDSON PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSIONER FOR STANDARDS investigate Iain Duncan Smith Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for his regular use of untruths and the persistent deception misleading of The House of Commons, Select Committees and the Media.
The DWP/JCP staff are as culpable as their employer and should be subject to the same justice as IDS, McVey etc. Rather naive to expect a Labour government to actually do this as they’re only diluted Tories at heart and wouldn’t rock the boat too much.
JCP staff are chosen for their lack of empathy or emotional intelligence and have been for over ten years.
You were doing well until you came out with that nonsense about Labour being “diluted Tories”. Who told you that? Go tell them to stick their head in a bucket and kick it until the sense returns – and tell them I told you to do it.
Labour voted with the Tories on the cuts a few weeks ago. Its not the same party it was. Harder and harder to tell the difference between them.
Would anybody else like to tell Gary why he’s not only being silly but ignorant as well?
Naive to believe anything but, in my opinion Mike. The Labour Party was successfully infiltrated in the mid-80s by the middle classes who believe they know what is best for the ‘plebs’. Saw it with my own two eyes in my local party and never trusted them since. To follow the Labour Party blindly, believing that they’ll always look out for the “little man” is dangerous ground. I think you may find that is why a lot of people don’t vote anymore. They don’t trust any of the legacy parties. Apologies for disagreeing with you and having a contradictory view.
I agree that it’s wrong to follow ANY party blindly (SNP activists take note).
However, your comment about Labour being infiltrated in the 1980s is undermined by your failure to understand that those people are now being weeded out.
I think DWP staff should go on strike with sanctions as the issue and now would be the time to do it. It would bring attention to the public about IDS and his regime.I do not believe all DWP workers are evil; I suspect they are between a rock and a hard place. But Evil exists when good men do nothing.
It’s also a sad state of affairs that a lot, not all, but a lot of the DWP workers do enjoy the sanctions – once they have sanctioned a few people it becomes the norm to them – however, we do know that a lot are also honest individuals trying to keep their jobs whilst trying hard not to sanction people. These, and the ones that work behind the scenes, need to start gathering the evidence. I want to see most of the government, but especially IDS, McVey, Lord Freud and Cameron in the Hague charged with Crimes Against Humanity!
Well said!
I’d like to see IDS, McVey, Baron Fraud and Cameron condemned to death for their crimes against humanity, and to see a piano wire noose secured around each of their necks whilst they stand on a block of ice.
Then the heating should be turned up a little.
Godwin’s Law is that internet law that dictates the loss of credibility when, usually a commenter on a thread, calls someone a Nazi. It is unbecoming to say the least. Civil Servants are the whipping boy of politicians and activists. They are unable to speak out, must remain neutral and are required to implement the policies of the government of the day to the best of their ability. Contrary to popular belief Civil Servants DO refuse to carry out tasks. Politicians won’t hesitate to ask Civil Servants to carry out illegal and immoral actions. They walk a tightrope every day to try and make broken systems work within rules set down by politicians who care only about being able to stand up in the House and look tough. The problem with DWP, HMRC etc is that they are lead politically without any expertise based purely on ideology. I can’t confine my criticism solely to the Coalition but they are certainly the most extreme since Thatcher..
You need to check your facts. Godwin’s Law does not apply when the comparison is accurate.
Quite, Iain Duncan Smith said “work frees you” three times in one day 27th of May 2010.
Some of his and other Conservatives speeches about disabled people have been direct translations of Nazi propaganda anti disabled speeches.
The Nazis also started to kill off disabled people before they started on the Jews.
The parallels are quite frankly frightening.
Are you sure about the translations of Nazi speeches?
Mike yes I am sure about the translations of Nazi Speeches.
The Tories even use sound bites based on Nazi propaganda posters.
I first noticed when watching:- The Nazis a warning from history, on Yesterday TV and it’s predecessor.
Unbelievably, IDS has given a speech in Washington stating that the Tories “must do more to show they are not trying to punish the poor”
(Apologies for the atrocious link, I’m not one to read the Waily Fail, but spotted the link on the BBC News website!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2977747/Tories-not-look-like-want-punish-people-benefits-says-Iain-Duncan-Smith.html
You couldn’t make it up! The person most noted for demonising the poor lectures the Conservative party on not demonising the poor…..
You cannot reason with “crazy” !!
The majority of us who have “dealings” with the DWP have at some point been painted with the “crazy brush”, and come away with a feeling of “what the hell happened”.
Its also very sad that the vast majority of the UK have been groomed into the attitude that all benefit claimants are taking away their hard earned tax, and that benefit claimants are/were a drain on the country`s economy.
Benefit claimants within all walks of life are the scapegoats for this government’s misdemeanours.
Benefit bashing always makes headline news when some other crap is going on.
Oh look…a squirrel.
If the Tories do get in again, it will be like a dog returning to its vomit.
It’s the civil service who do a disservice to parliament and the general public when they hide the lies that ministers report to parliament.Ministers who tell deliberate lies in parliament and use civil servants to cover up those lies are abusing the law. IDS has consistently told lies in parliament and never apologised or been made to because his civil servant lackies have covered his tracks with civil service babble…..Much has been made of the civil service being non political but on such a subject as following instructions that the civil service know will place members of the UK public at risk are guilty of collusion and equally guilty as charged with any minister who could be hauled before the European court for actions which have meant the death of UK citizens by their actions.
I have read a few of the comments on here regarding civil servants.
I would like to make it clear that I have been a civil servant for 30 years and therefore feel I can comment on the civil service workings with a degree of accuracy.
At the risk of sounding inflammatory, I’d like to set a few things straight if I may.
Most experienced civil servants (and I count myself amongst them) are well aware that the government of the day bring in flawed systems and expect civil servants to implement and use them in line with legislation.
Civil servants (of whatever department) regularly bring to the attention of senior management by way of team meetings the problems they face with the systems and suggest workarounds and alternatives. Sometimes the system cannot be altered because of budget resources so various workarounds are effected to improve the system.
Civil servants do not have the ear of the minister of the department, neither are they able to just down tools, shout “everybody out!” and walk out a la Miriam Karlin in “The Rag Trade” … unions have rules too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rag_Trade
“Civil servants do not have the ear of the minister of the department, neither are they able to just down tools, shout “everybody out!” and walk out a la Miriam Karlin in “The Rag Trade” … unions have rules too.”
Yes,but front line workers in Job Centres are surely more at risk of being attacked under the current regime.If some deserve the abuse is another issue.But surely the Union could argue that their members are at risk and even unfair sanctions adversely affect their well being and ballot for a strike on these issues.
It would at the very least,even if the ballot failed,bring public attention in a election year to what is going on.Oh but then again,the propaganda machine may well pretend it never happened,like the huge marches that don’t get reported etc.
But doing something is better than doing nothing.Forced labourers in Germany sabotaged Tanks by not putting grease in bearings or stuffing metal in to ensure they quickly broke down.
Evil Exists when Good People do Nothing.
PCS are aware of the additional stress placed upon their members in the DWP because of the sanction targets and steps are being taken by PCS to address this. http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/utilities/document_summary/document_summary.cfm/docid/445F94FA-9ADF-42C8-A8EB5912E37638E5
It should be remembered that a significant number of DWP have brought to the attention of social media details of the targets sanction regime. In the DWP as in life, you cannot tar everyone with the same brush. I am not trying to garner sympathy for DWP staff, just trying to provide a balanced view.
This needs sending to every JobSanction Plus office across the land and I did have an email list somewhere on my hard drive.
I take on board the comments from people who work in the Civil Service, but sactioning the vulnerable for trivial, even no reason, is something I just couldn’t do. I couldn’t look myself in the mirror and think “who am I going to sanction today”, or come home to tell my wife “I sanctioned someone because they were late for their appointment through no fault of their own”.
It concerns me that if you work in the NHS you will “allegedly” get protection if you are a whistleblower, but no such protection exists if you work for the DWP.
With regards to the PCS, I would say regional or Head Office are aware of these sanctions but cannot believe that they are doing nothing about it, I doubt that if this was over pay, the same would apply.
I would rather sweep the streets with my eyelashes than work in such an environment.
Most DWP employees would fail an Emotional Intelligence test and show absolutely no empathy with their fellow human beings. That’s why they’re chosen by the DWP HR. I’ve seen a deaf guy get sanctioned for asking the adviser to repeat her questions (he was being awkward in her opinion) and a young woman with Down’s Syndrome (first time of being out of work) threatened by advisers for failing to comprehend the adviser’s questions. She was accompanied by a ‘helper’ who was told to “butt out or be removed by security” when she tried to intervene. Apologies and excuses for these creatures fall on deaf ears for me, as will pleas for decency to DWP staff be ignored by them.
Jim Round … I’m not posting on here to defend DWP staff. As it happens I don’t work for the DWP, I work for another civil service department that is often in the News (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) Anyone who knows me (and I appreciate that you don’t) will be aware that I abhor and detest the way in which this government treat the disabled, sick and vulnerable. My very ill niece had a rare brain tumour and was subjected to appalling treatment by DWP. I was able to assist her (to a satisfactory conclusion) because of the knowledge gained about the WCA process from Mike Sivier @ Vox Political and the like. There will always be bad apples in any organisation, and the DWP is no exception, but the vast majority are appalled by the whole sanctions regime and have been subjected to conduct and discipline procedures because of their “failure” to sanction claimants. Be aware, that many DWP employees have provided information to independent bloggers regarding the benefit sanction regimes. Here’s an example of same…
http://labourlist.org/2013/03/shocking-dwp-whistleblower-letter-shows-targets-for-sanctions-in-action/
Without DWP employees continuing to work in the department, none of this information would come to light.
As the saying goes … keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
WibblyWobbly, I know from your previous comments that you do not work for the DWP, my comment was not aimed at you :-)
My comment was about the hypocrisy shown by the government about whistleblowers, fine if you work in the NHS, but not if you work for the DWP.
Also the poor showing from the PCS, it just proves my point about re-active in nature people are (it doesn’t effect me or my close family so that’s alright then)
I have seen Union meetings have poor turnouts for day to day goings on, but mention pay and people can’t attend fast enough. I wonder what would happen if, for example a regional organisers (is that what they’re called these days) son or daughter was sanctioned for something trivial, I assume the ballot papers would fly out quick time.
In case it’s not absolutely clear, we want DWP’s sanctions regime to be scrapped entirely. It has poisoned jobcentres. #dispatches #PCS
The above is an exact copy of a tweet from PCS following Dispatches. If this is true of most members then the leadership of the union have a duty to organise a campaign in support of their members conditions of work. They need to be protected from the overzealous managers who are the ones who are delighting in doing their masters’ bidding. If a strike was called this would play into the hands of IDS as benefit claimants would not receive their payments. Unite the union are running a campaign for and on behalf of claimants against the sanctions. Workers at the DWP should be appealed to, to support fellow workers, unemployed as some are, and Unite should spread the campaign with pickets outside all Job Centres and Maximarse assessment centres. This could bring things to national notice now. A Twitter campaign could also be started to keep this trending. Perhaps you could organise this Mike with fellow bloggers with an interest in getting justice for all.
…the unemployed, sick and disabled are his Jews …
The Holocaust of the Nazis was German on German
for the unemployed (untermensch),
chronic sick,
disabled and
the old,
with death clinics
where their fellow Germans were locked in and left to starve or indivudually gassed in gas vans.
The Nazis hid this from families until the Roman Catholic church outed them (at great personal risk of course).
But the Pope at the time collaborated with them, of course.
Well said, Mike.
I was always one of those people who balked at referring to people as Nazi’s… it was always lazy and blown out of proportion. Until now.
Since 2010 it has become clear that the Tory Coalition ARE behaving exactly like the Nazis.
Their attacks on sick, disabled, or just unlucky people – and their propaganda which puts a swathe of the public on their side – is directly comparable to 1930s Germany.
We have ceased to be able to call ourselves a civilised country since they took power.
On another forum I read a disabled person (self-described) have a right old go at people calling out the coalition on their Nazi-like policies, because they thought that there had to be death camps for this to apply. When another disabled person then recounted their abuse and assault in the street, with another reference to T4, they went off the scale, not understanding the reference. So sad. (and a little bit creepy, IMHO)
So many, even those affected, at times seem oblivious to the central role of propaganda as the anaesthetic for the masses. It is the daily drip feed of stories designed to cause outrage, and then shape discriminatory behaviour, then to make it seem that the faux hysterics whipped up are in fact normal, that provides the ground cover for the state atrocities.