Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty (ECAP), a claimants group based at the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, is claiming ìa potentially crucial victoryî in the struggle of unemployed people to defend their rights.
"Peter", an unemployed ex-miner, has been attempting since 2009 to bring an ECAP representative to interviews with the Edinburgh office of A4E, a private contractor implementing compulsory "workfare" for the department of work and pensions.
A4E falsely accused Peter of photocopying material not relevant to his job search and then threatened him with stoppage of benefits.
A social security tribunal has ruled that a claimant cannot have her benefits stopped because she "felt the need to have the representative of his choice."
Topics: Social justice, Social struggles