I have just come back from the DPAC Organised protest against Atos over their treatment of the disabled on Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
The protest was supported by UK Uncut in the form of at least two members.
I spoke to one member of DPAC and her interview will be available as a part of video report I made.
It looks like Atos is causing more harm than good, with around 30% of all those fit capable of work winning their appeals. A Welfare Advisor quoted on ‘BBC Panorama’ said ‘he believes this rises to a staggering 80-90% if the appellant seeks the help of an experienced advisor.’ [taken from the leaflett available from the protestors]
This is not really surprising seeing at this is Governmental Contract and a lot of you already know how much control the Government uses over these contracts (see the G4S fiasco at the olympics and other governmental contracts they have)
The one thing that did really annoy one protestor is the medical professionals who sit in judgement of the people they see. One person who walked up did say he was lucky as he had passed all his tests, and another had just come out of his assessment.
I do wonder if the medical professionals working on this contract have any real idea about sickness and other conditions, like cancer patients being fit to work, and they clearly not.
