To force someone existing on welfare benefit into unpaid Work runs counter to any ideal of a humane society and its government. Whole communities have suffered as a result of ever changing economic fortune, and it falls to government to address wide spread unemployment and offer leadership and example, rather than deflecting responsibility and demonising the unemployed as being some how to blame.

As some of you may be aware, the Green Party tried to stand two candidates in Basingstoke (Sarah Cope and Clare Phipps), and the Electoral Commission rejected their application. Four independent people (Rachel Ling, Emma Rome, Zion Zakari, and Adam Lotun) attempted to do the same in two other constituencies. We had been in talks with the GP leadership about working together, but have now received an email from the GP's legal advisor telling us that they have zero interest in cooperating to present the legal case. I don't think that is right. I believe the Green Party should work with independent campaigners to get job-sharing as an option for how candidates should be able to stand. (n.b., I am referring to job-sharing, where two people are both committed to a single job, sometimes also known as flexible working. I am not referring to the second-jobbing that happens among many MPs currently, or the part-time antics of Boris Johnson).

If this country is going to be economically successful then it is vital to ensure that people who need it, have a support system in place to take care of them at their greatest time of need. People do not choose to be ill or disabled, therefore it makes no sense to penalise these people, either morally or economically. During the election campaign the Prime Minister spoke a great deal about his disabled son, who is now, very sadly no longer with us, therefore, I cannot believe that such a person adopts policies which takes vital support money away from this group of people. To any sensible economist this flies in the face of what normal conventional wisdom tells you should be done when an economy is in trouble. Having studied micro macro and global economics, I am aware that conventional wisdom, and common sense dictates that you adopt a spending policy in order to help the country to recover. After all one mans spending money is another man's wages. Another reason this system must be abolished now is that there are more than one million appeal cases pending. The success rate of these appeals indicates that by far the majority of the people who claim these benefits are people who are in genuine need. Finally, I think it is an absolute disgrace that the hardworking doctors, nurses and GP's are having their diagnosis and medical notes questioned in this way, which is very disrespectful and shows a lack of gratitude for the fantastic work they do, without which none of us would be here. This action represents privatisation of the Benefit system and the NHS back the back door as the result of employing a profit making American company, whose employees are paid bonuses for achieving their target figures of refusing or denying the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country access to money which they need just to fulfill their basic needs, and meet their most basic human rights of having enough money to feed themselves and any family they may have, warmth and shelter. Therefore, for the sake of the recovery of the economy, and the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country, I would implore you to abolish this unworkable system immediately.

We the undersigned condemn HMRC’s decision to bring in unpaid benefits claimants to undertake PAYE processing work on taxpayers records. We note this comes at a time where HMRC is unable to deliver on its business targets due to chronic understaffing. Movement to Work (MTW) is a government scheme aimed at 18-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training. Officially a programme of vocational training and work experience, it actually is the latest incarnation of the government’s ‘workfare’ programme – providing employers free labour by making the unemployed work for their benefits. The Civil Service is one of the core providers in this scheme, meaning that the government itself is one of the main beneficiaries of unpaid labour. In HMRC, the employer wants to double those brought in from 1,000 to 2,000, and if successful that number could increase even further. The potential for these placements to carry out work that should be done by paid staff, covering up staffing shortfalls in a climate of job cuts and office closures, is patently obvious. Personal Tax has taken the brunt of job cuts in HMRC, with over 5,000 staff lost in the past five years. This has created a staffing crisis wherein the Department has failed to answer adequate numbers of calls and been left with huge backlogs of work, which they have then tried to cover up through the use of overtime and dragging workers out of other work areas (often with the result of additional backlogs there) to answer calls during peak times. The use of claimants is just another way to mask the backlogs. Why employ additional staff if you can get the work done for free? Why offer existing staff overtime if you can draft in more claimants to do the job? Why bargain with the workforce through their trade union when it’s so easy to draft in the unemployed at no additional cost? Why take any steps to prevent further job losses or office closures with a reserve army of labour on call? The first tranche of MTW placements in Bootle number just ten. But the potential for this number to increase exponentially remains a threat to our jobs and working conditions, especially as they are being put on Work Management Items, the contingency work for the AO grade in Personal Tax, at a time when the department wants to half the number of items on hand. It must also be said that MTW is exploitation of the placements themselves. They are doing the work of paid staff for no more than their dole, and treated as a disposable resource by an unscrupulous employer who doesn’t want to pay the rate for the job or foot the bill for the actual number of staff needed.

We are street traders in Colchester there is a handful of us. Many street traders have worked in the town for decades. We trade seven days a week providing goods for our local community. Over the years street traders have built trust with the community and have been rewarded with the local communities loyal custom. The council has served notice to the traders we now have 20 days to save our businesses ,save our staff from being made unemployed. We have been model tenants contributing tens of thousands to the councils treasury. So why in these times of austerity with public services being cut is the council taking away funds from the public purse. By the council relocating traders from their current established positions and raising rents by 300-400% they are most definitely forcing the hard working street trader out of business. We urge the public to save us as we feel that over the years we have contributed to the local economy and provided a service for the public. This is your local public service that the council would like to take away so please show your support.

There is increased inequality in the UK. CEO annual salaries are obscene in this context and no-one, repeat no-one, justifies multi-million annual salaries. We bailed the banks out. Some of these are still making losses AND paying millions in bonuses. This is plain wrong , unfair and disgusting. We need to make this a top 5 election issue.

In your own words, this £2,000 payment was to "suitably reward our staff for the transitions they have and continue to make". May we respectively remind you that we are also your staff and we equally contribute and adapt to change. Such a contemptuous approach only serves to undermine our contribution. This would be difficult to accept at any time but on the back of year on year pay cuts, additional unnecessary pension contributions and in the middle of our campaign for fair pay makes it even more disdainful. Non-Operational staff have equally shown continued commitment, flexibility, adaptability and drive over many many years but regardless will not receive this payment. Surely this cannot be right. The importance and value we place on teamwork within the Scottish Prison Service is steeped in history yet it would appear you are now prepared to cast this aside in favour of a divisive, fragmented and financially motivated approach. Inevitably this cannot be good for the long term future of the SPS. We cannot underestimate our strength of feeling and injustice. What we are asking for is simply Fair Pay for All;- Mr Mathieson, it is in your gift to make this happen, your recent actions have clearly shown that you are not constrained by Westminster. Mr McConnel, your early messages showed an acknowledgement of unity, togetherness, shared values and goals. Please don't lose sight of this now.

It has become an epidemic. As a trade union rep for the past 24 yrs and the last 20 in local authority I have dealt with many cases of bullying, from Heads in schools or Managers in social services to local government officers.

We consider these measures necessary to alleviate the suffering imposed on some of the poorest members of our society by some of the richest.

For every year that we work, a younger person is deprived of a job.

Bromley council is embarking on over £70m of cuts in the next four years despite siting on over £100m in reserves and £500m of assets, they are also looking to privatise over 2000 workers. These cuts will devastate the lives of the young, the old, disabled and vulnerable in Bromley and it will mean many more workers will face the misery of pay cuts and redundancy. Never has it been more important for them to have the protection of their unions.

NHS staff work a 24/7 job and as a reward for being so flexible with shifts they receive extra pay when they work nights and weekends. Most staff rely on this due to the pay freeze for staff on increment pay. NHS Staff suffer more than those deciding their pay can ever imagine, They are beaten and abused daily, working unsociable hours and 14 hour shifts. They have to pay to park at their workplace and all they want to do is help others. NHS staff spend days such as Christmas and New Year with complete strangers, with their patients and colleagues, helping to save lives. For doing this they get a little bit more money, but the job they do is priceless. Please sign this petition.