Protesters have stormed the offices of a government welfare organisation in Dundee.
Around ten members of the Scottish Unemployed Workers’ Network (SUWN) entered the Triage offices in Albert Square this morning to protest the imposition of sanctions on benefits claimants and the use of “workfare”.
They could be seen hanging out of windows and shouting.Three police units were sent and officers entered the second floor offices.The protesters then left the building at the police’s request.They then continued to protest in the street outside for a short time, calling for an end to “slave labour”.
A spokeswoman said Triage organised ” pointless” work with businesses and charities for the unemployed which they must carry out to secure benefits.
An official statement from the SUWN said: “Triage is central to the punishment regime faced by unemployed workers in Dundee. It is a private company making hundreds of thousands of pounds by adding to the pressures on people already suffering from stress and poverty.
“The draconian rules come from Westminster, but it is companies like Triage that put the rules into action. It is companies like Triage that make sure that the unemployed fill their time with generally useless activities.
“It is companies like Triage that make people work for up to six months without pay. And it is companies like Triage that tell the DWP to stop the benefits of anyone who has not fulfilled every task to the letter, so leaving them destitute.
“These are the punishments being meted out to people unable to find work or unable to work. And, as if administering these were not bad enough, Triage has repeatedly failed to pass on crucial messages or send notices of compulsory appointments, so ensuring that even more people get sanctioned.
“A large number of sanctions in Dundee are given because people have failed to come to a meeting at Triage that they were never told about, or only told too late.”
The statement added: “This occupation is a protest against sanctions and slave labour and the whole punitive regime of which they are part.
“It is also a message to Triage and similar companies that if they take part in this brutal exploitation of people’s misery they will be named and shamed and disrupted. If you exploit us, we will shut you down.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland, Tayside Division, said: “Officers are currently in attendance at an incident at Albert Street, Dundee involving what is understood to be protestors.
“The matter is ongoing so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Grace Kennedy, managing director of Triage Central said: “We strongly reject the suggestion that anyone is put into pointless or unpaid work. We’re very proud of our innovative approaches to employment and training that works both for individuals and the companies looking to employ them. “We work with some of the largest employers in the country to offer people who have been unemployed find good, sustainable jobs. In Dundee we have had a number of success stories with many people securing work in the construction sector on major local projects and in the hospitality and retail sectors. “At Triage Central we specialise in providing support, training, work preparation and job opportunities to help people in receipt of benefits progress back to into work. We operate under strict guidelines issued by the DWP and does not have the gift to stop or start anyone’s benefit.”