At 4pm on Friday 7th September 15 disabled protesters wearing high-visibility jackets emblazoned with the Atos logo and slogan "WE KILL DISABLED PEOPLE" blocked the exit road from the DWP and Atos offices in Cardiff. Staff were prevented from leaving the site in their cars for 20 minutes, after which the protesters allowed them through if they took a leaflet explaining how 32 disabled people a week die after Atos finds them fit to work and the DWP stops their benefits.

On the front of the protesters' jackets was printed “Killing disabled people for the DWP. But at £100 million of taxpayers' dosh a year, we don't give Atos.”

Several motorists leaving the site were very supportive of the protest and congratulated the protesters. Twice as many staff expressed support for the protest and agreement with the leaflet than those who expressed hostility.

Three DWP/Atos employees were very aggressive and drove at the protesters at speed. One drove over a protester's foot and clipped his arm very hard with a wing mirror. The legal observers present took down the vehicles' registration details and will be requesting the footage from the CCTV camera overlooking the incident.

The police arrived in a huge van but left after seeing the protest was peaceful. The protest continued until 5.30pm and was a great success.


Statement on the reverse of the leaflets, which we also asked PCS to email to all its members on the site:

Message to workers in the Gabalfa Government Buildings

We are sorry to inconvenience you today with our protest. It is not our desire to disrupt the lives of our fellow Cardiffians, and we will move out of the road and allow traffic through as soon as we have made our point. We are doing this because we simply have no other options, and because we are desperate. The welfare reforms being implemented by Atos and the DWP are destroying the lives of tens of thousands of disabled people, causing immense suffering and homelessness, and driving us to despair and suicide. 32 people a week die after being found "fit to work" by Atos and having their benefits stopped by the DWP.

Who are we?

Disabled People Against Cuts is a direct action grassroots organisation of disabled people whose lives are being destroyed by the Welfare reforms. Those of us here today are local Cardiff people. Many of us held well-paid jobs until we had the misfortune to become ill or disabled. We are here because we are facing homelessness or have been made homeless and destitute, and many of us have been driven to the brink of suicide.

Why are we not using more conventional means of protest and lobbying, rather than blocking roads?

We are. And we have been doing so ever sine these disability benefit reforms and the Atos assessments were first introduced under the Labour government. All to no avail. Earlier this week several dozen MPs met with the Minister for Work and Pensions (now Minister for Justice) Chris Grayling to condemn the Work Capability Assessment tests carried out by Atos which are causing immense suffering to their constituents. The Minister refused to budge on these inhumane and deeply-flawed, medically-unsound assessments which are causing so much suffering and which have been condemned by the British Medical Association.

The full debate can be viewed on the BBC's Democracy Live under the title "Government attacked over 'disastrous' medical assessments"
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/​democracylive/hi/​house_of_commons/​newsid_9747000/9747759.stm

We are forced to take direct action like blocking roads because all other avenues have failed.

Is it not justified to test disability benefit claimants given the high levels of benefit fraud?

Of couse disabled benefit claimants should be assessed to determine that taxpayers' money is spent where it's needed. But benefit fraud levels are very low, and the amount of money lost to the Treasury due to all kinds of benefit fraud is about 1% of the money lost to the Treasury due to tax evasion and tax avoidance by corporations and the wealthy. Disability benefit fraud is one of the lowest of all, at 0.5%. Punishing hundreds of thousands of disabled people for the crimes of a tiny minority by making many homeless and destitute and killing 32 a week is completely unjustifiable in any civilized society. We want assessments that assess us on the basis of medical expertise and the views of our own doctors, and that above all are fair.

Is it fair to disrupt the lives of ordinary DWP and Atos workers?

No. But we have no other choice. No-one will listen to us, and we are being driven to destitution and suicide. People driven to despair are increasingly likely to perform drastic acts like setting themselves on fire in Jobcentres, as happened earlier this year. We believe direct action protests such as this one today are far more constructive and less damaging to both disabled people and DWP and Atos workers than having to witness people burning themselves alive through utter despair.