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By Laurie Penny
Lewis Smith had been working as a mechanic for 45 years when his arm was crushed by a filing cabinet. But when he tried to claim sickness benefits he faced a prejudice he had never imagined.
"It took months to sort out, and when I rang and told them how much pain I was in all they said was: 'Do you know how much paperwork you're causing?'
"I was made to feel like a scrounger, and it was degrading."
Across the country disabled and unemployed people are setting up their own unions to fight what they believe is systemic discrimination against people, like Smith, who are sick and out of work. This is the first time that people with disabilities and mental health problems have mobilised with unemployed workers.
Since last October all new and old claimants have had to pass a series of tests for the new employment and support allowance (ESA) - a step designed by the government to "get one million people off benefits and into work." But campaigners believe that this strategy results in the abandonment of sick people by the state - in the middle of a recession.
"There are 37 claimants for every new job in Hackney," said a representative of the Hackney Unemployed Workers' Union.
"People are sick of being treated like they've done something wrong when they're using the jobcentre. One of our claimants tried to apply for ESA. When he explained that his wife was pregnant the jobcentre staff just said: 'You're unemployed, so why did you let your wife get pregnant?'
"By coming together and standing up for each other we can win changes that everybody wants.
"When a single mother's benefits were cut off because of a clerical error she went down to Dalston jobcentre with 20 other claimants and supporters to demand an explanation. This led to the area manager agreeing to visit her at home to hear her case. Frightened of any more bad publicity, they immediately re-started her benefits and apologised."
Welfare claimants say that they are distressed and confused by the new tests. "I was made to take off my trousers and top in front of a complete stranger to prove I had a self-harm problem, to show all my scars and stitches from the times I've been in hospital," said Laura, 23, who has had severe mental health problems since childhood.
"That was humiliating enough, but then I got a letter saying that I'd failed their test and they were stopping my support.
"When I read the letter I cried for half an hour. I struggle every day with feeling like a failure because I'm not well enough to work, and now I've got nothing to live on. I don't know what I'm going to do."
Many claimants do give up. "A large proportion of people claiming ESA cease their claim before medical testing is complete," said the Department for Work and Pensions, which had no figures for the number of those who drop out of the system who might be in genuine need.
In response to allegations by claimants that the new medical assessment system is punitive, the DWP said that "the purpose of the employment and support allowance is to focus on what people can do, not on what people can't do."
Unions of the unemployed and disabled "may be able to make it more difficult for the media to get away with stereotyping vulnerable groups of people," said Ben Pritchett, the organiser of the nascent Oxford Unemployed Workers and Claimants Union.
"Being out of work is a very isolating experience. It's good to meet with other people in the same situation and to realise that unemployment is not the fault of one's own," he added.
"It restores people's confidence to feel that if they work together they can win victories on specific issues directly effecting their lives."
One of the key demands of the new unions is for the benefits claiming process to be simplified, in order to help vulnerable people get the support they need.
"The genuine cases like me don't know the system, and they're the ones who get brushed aside," said Smith.
"All you want is a bit of money to live on until you're right again, but there's that much red tape that you feel like giving up."
"People do need help," said Smith.
"It's probably a bit late for me, being 60, but I'd like to join a union to help other people who are going through the same thing. I'm not sure what I've got left to bargain with, though."
Originally published by the Morning Star
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Laura would have not been asked to do this at a Jobcentre, but at a Medical Centre ran by ATOS, DWP’s health assessment providers. Laura should have sought assistance and advice from her DEA (Disability Employment Adviser) or her ESA Personal Adviser. She could have taken somebody with her to the medical had she wished.
The Labour Government introduced ESA to counter the media impression of Long Term Sick relaxing on benefits living the easy life. A truly outrageous statement knowing how many people receiving Incapacity Benefit or Income Support (sickness based) struggle to exist day to day. The emphasis of ESA is to concentrate on what a person do, rather than on what they cannot. If an individual is considered suitable for retraining or one-to-one assistance they are placed in the Support Group, and use the Pathways programme delivered by a Third Party Provider. Many feel that this outsourcing to Providers is not appropriate.
Somebody else said "People are sick of being treated like they've done something wrong when they're using the jobcentre. One of our claimants tried to apply for ESA. When he explained that his wife was pregnant the jobcentre staff just said: 'You're unemployed, so why did you let your wife get pregnant?' Well the answer should have been I am not unemployed, I am claiming state benefits, to which I am entitled, on the basis of my sickness and/or disability and unavailability for work and can I speak to your Manager to lodge a formal complaint!
Since last October 2008! All new and old claimants have had to pass a series of tests for the new employment and support allowance (ESA) - a step designed by the government to "get one million people off benefits and into work." But campaigners believe that this strategy results in the abandonment of sick people by the state - in the middle of a recession.
Sorry this is untrue. Firstly anybody who has previously been entitled to a claim for Incapacity Benefit or Income Support due to sickness or disability can link back to their old claim under the rules for a period of 104 weeks (NB I DO need to check the length of this period, but this was the case a year ago.)
Lewis Smith said "I was made to feel like a scrounger, and it was degrading.", it is for this reason that I personally prefer the term customer rather than claimant. People trying to access State Benefits are Customers of Jobcentre Plus or of the Local Authority when claiming Housing Benefit. If the staff view the individual as a customer rather than a claimant it helps shift emphasis to helping the customer rather than denying the claimant. Personal view, happy to discuss further.