JUST how ruthlessly Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is conducting the ruling class’ war on the poor can be seen in the changes he has made in the way that the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) can be slashed, and the results of these changes.
His new regulations introduced ‘a regime of fixed period sanctions, which replaced the existing sanction rules from 22nd October 2012’.
Under the new regime, the Department of Work and Pensions states: ‘Higher level sanctions (for example for leaving a job voluntarily) will lead to claimants losing all of their JSA for a fixed period of 13 weeks for a first failure, 26 weeks for a second failure and 156 weeks for a third and subsequent failure (within a 52-week period of their last failure).’
What a gift to ruthless bosses who screw as much surplus value out of ‘their’ workers as is possible. Workers know that if they walk out they will not receive the JSA.
The DWP adds: ‘Intermediate level sanctions of four weeks for a first failure, rising to 13 weeks for a second or subsequent failures (within a 52 week period of their last failure) may be applied following a period of disallowance for not actively seeking employment or not being available for work.’
The jobless are at the mercy of bureaucrats who judge whether workers are seeking jobs with the enthusiasm that their master, Duncan Smith, is demanding, in a period of mass unemployment.
The DWP continues: ‘Lower level sanctions (for example for failing to attend an adviser interview) will lead to claimants losing all of their JSA for a fixed period of four weeks for the first failure, followed by 13 weeks for subsequent failures (within a 52 week period of their last failure).’
The ‘lower level sanctions’ are a pathway to the total loss of the Jobseeker’s Allowance and a passport into extreme poverty.
The key findings of Duncan Smith’s ministry on the Jobseeker’s Allowance are an example of extreme ruthlessness in the service of ultra-rich bosses and bankers.
The Department relates that, ‘A total of 12.22 million sanction decisions have been made between April 2000 and June 2013 – of which, 5.51 million were adverse decisions (i.e. a sanction applied).’
The DWP continues to enthuse about how much more ruthless are the IDS changes: ‘Under the new sanctions regime, introduced on 22nd October 2012, a total of 1.35 million sanction decisions have been made up to June 2013, of which, 0.58 million were adverse decisions.’
In just seven months, 580,000 jobless people had their JSA slashed or stopped under the IDS regime. No wonder the official unemployment figures are dropping very slightly.
His regime is boasting: ‘Under the new sanctions regime, just over one third (36 per cent) of adverse decisions were made because of a failure to actively seek employment, with 30 per cent because of a failure to participate in the Work Programme (and other training schemes), and 20 per cent because of a failure to attend an advisory interview.’
It states that ‘A total of 223 thousand individuals had received a low level sanction, 167 thousand individuals had received an intermediate level sanction and 48 thousand individuals received a high level sanction.’
The statement ends with more boasting: ‘Across all sanction levels, over three-quarters of individuals receiving an adverse decision were doing so for the first time under the new sanctions regime.’
The Tories are extremely hot on sanctions against the working class and the poor.
It is clear that a part of its ruthlessness is to keep the figures for the registered unemployed as low as possible by depriving hundreds of thousands of their JSA, and creating a reserve army of labour to be used to fight trade unions and break strikes.
It is clear that the Tories are very hot on brutal sanctions against workers and youth.
In fact, the Tories and the ruling class deserve the ultimate sanction. This is the organisation of a socialist revolution to overthrow the ruling class and their political frontmen and replace them with a workers government and socialism. This is the only way to resolve the class struggle in the interests of the working class and the youth.
