Surrey Anarchist Group

"CUT IT UP" CAMPAIGN

You don’t need to work for the Financial Times to realise that credit card debt is getting well out of hand. Ten years ago hardly anyone had one. Now there are 91 million credit and debit cards in the UK. Two fifths of our shopping is now put on the plastic. The net result is a large portion of the population with massive credit card debt. Given the extortionate interest rates charged this is seriously bad news for us and the source of gleeful hand rubbing for the high street bankers (what’s that rhyming slang for I wonder?) who are pocketing it.

We see it like this. Credit cards have been introduced not to make our lives easier, but to extract money from us. Credit card debt acts like a mini mortgage - got to keep our noses to the grindstone so as not to miss any payments. We lived without them for years, and can start doing so again. To help you on your way to liberating yourself from plastic purgatory we have our "Cut it up" campaign. The first step in taking part is as easy as you make it. Get your credit card and take a pair of scissors to it. This may seem hard at first, but believe me, the feeling of relief when its done is immense. Worried about the debt you’ve accrued? The most important thing is not to panic. There’s plenty of free advice you can get out there, and things really might not be as bad as you think. For starters, did you know the following?

* Credit Card debt is classified as "non-priority" debt. You can’t be imprisoned for not paying non-priority debts and you are unlikely to lose your home or your essential goods.

* It is an offence under The Administration of Justice Act 1970 (amongst others) for someone in debt to be harassed by their creditor such as a credit card company or an agent acting on their behalf.

* Debts of under Ł5000 can only be heard at the small claims court. So even if you do get taken to court you can’t be stung with solicitors costs if you lose.

* Debt collectors are not the same as bailiffs. Debt collectors cannot take any action against you, apart from asking you to pay any money owed.

* Regardless of what they say, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LET BAILIFFS IN. They are not allowed to force their way into your home unless you have let them in on a previous visit, hence the importance of never, ever letting them in.

We don’t claim to be legal experts. We certainly don’t claim to offer "impartial" advice either - we despise bailiffs, bankers and other creditors as much as anyone and support fair means or foul to get the better of them! Some decent, free, practical advice is available from The National debtline on 0808 808 4000. Their website is www.nationaldebtline.co.uk. Alternatively, you could visit the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Why not let debt collectors know what you think of them? Thames Water's Collection Agency are based in Woking: Credit Consultants International, St Andrews House, West Street, Woking, GU21 1EB. Tel: 01483 778800 Fax: 01483 778811

FIGHTING FASCISM

Fascism is a viciously authoritarian type of capitalism, usually extremely racist, sexist and homophobic.

Fascists in Britain are using three main strategies to try and increase their influence:

1.Controlling the streets: The traditional fascist way of coming to power is by first physically controlling the streets. They try and show their strength through public marches and demonstrations, and by attacking the public events groups they oppose (blacks, gays, left-wingers, anarchists etc.). To counter this strategy they must be opposed physically. The only organised group currently doing this in Britain is the No Platform Anti-Fascist Network: http://noplatform.antifa.net

2. Infiltration: Fascists are also trying to make their obnoxious views more acceptable by infiltrating other movements, particularly the environmental movement. They have made little progress in this except on the crackpot fringes. But this is no reason to be complacent and they must be exposed for what they are whenever discovered.

3. Local activism: Fascists are beginning to gain ground in some areas through working in local community politics. Particularly in 'white flight' areas they have been able to utilise racism to gain support. As the mainstream parties have abandoned the white working class, and the left continue to preach 'Vote Labour' the fascists can appear a radical alternative. To counter this we need to organise where we live and fight against the real enemy: the ruling class.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRISON SLAVERY

Wilkinson's CHEAP - BECAUSE WE USE SLAVE LABOUR

Wilkinsons claim to be a company with a 'caring' outlook, a company 'working in partnership with local communities', a company with an 'ethical' view. But in contrast to their publicity material, the reality is that rather than offer jobs to the community Wilkinson's prefer to use the slave labour of a captive non-unionised workforce in order to keep their costs low and their profits high.

Slavery has NOT been abolished in Britain, behind high walls and locked doors it still flourishes. Working class people are being forced to toil in poor conditions, beyond the reach of health and safety inspectors, denied even the most basic employment and trade-union rights, and severely punished if they refuse to work. In British prisons, there have been savage cuts in education budgets over the past half-decade, any pretence at rehabilitating prisoners and empowering them with trade skills has been abandoned. They are now seen as a readily exploitable labour force, a Third World colony in Britain's own backyard, cheap, non-unionised, available, and literally compelled to work.

If prisoners refuse to work, or are not considered to be working hard enough, they are punished-placed in solitary confinement, brutalised, denied visits, having days added to their sentences. Private companies are making enormous profits from prison labour, Ł52.9 Million in 1999, and that figure is growing rapidly. They use it because it is CHEAP-prisoners may be paid less than Ł5 for a week's work - and for prisoners there are no 'sickies', no holidays, no union meetings, no transport problems, and if there's no work they can simply be locked back in their cells. Prisoners are treated as the bosses would like to treat all of us.

Wilkinson's are one of many companies profiting from the slave labour of prisoners. In Swansea prison for example, where prisoners are forced to do packing work for Wilkinson's, prisoners are paid little more than Ł1 per day. This greedy company would rather use slave labour than give more work to their own workers or employ new ones.

The issue of prison slavery is an issue for ALL working-class people, not least because it undermines workers' pay and conditions generally. Not because prisoners are somehow 'stealing' jobs, they have absolutely no choice in the matter, but because companies can drive down the wages of their own employees by using prison labour, and it brings with it the threat of short-time and redundancies. The employees of Dysons, the vacuum-cleaner manufacturer, for example, were thrown out of work when Dysons decided to use cheap non-unionised labour in Malaysia, but how many Dysons' workers knew that for some time the company had been using cheap, non-unionised labour at Full Sutton prison? Not surprisingly the latter-day slave-masters are desperate to keep their involvement secret, from their own employees, and from the wider public.

The Campaign Against Prison Slavery exists to challenge and bring about an end to forced prison labour, and to expose the companies that exploit it. In the 21st Century it is high-time that slavery in all its forms was ended for good.

SAY NO TO SLAVERY - SAY NO TO WILKINSONS

Campaign Against Prison Slavery, The Cardigan Centre, Cardigan Road, Leeds, LS6 1LJ. E-mail: againstprisonslavery@mail.com Website: http://www.againstprisonslavery.org

Surrey Anarchist Group (SAG)
Address: PO Box 375, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey. GU21 2XL
Website: http://www.surreyanarchy.org.uk
Email: info@surreyanarchy.org.uk
Discussion list: surreyanarchy-subscribe@lists.riseup.net