On Tuesday the 28th of august members of Hull Solfed were joined by disabled activists in staging a protest outside the local office of official Paralympics sponsor Atos. Like similar demonstrations happening simultaneously around the country we wanted to shine a spotlight on Atos and its practices. Employed by the DWP to carry out work capability assessments declaring sick and disabled people 'fit for work', Atos uses an inhuman computer programme to do the testing, and trains its staff to push people off benefits. They profit from destroying the rights and lives of disabled people.
We handed out leaflets highlighting the hypocrisy of Atos in sponsoring the Paralympics while devastating the lives of disabled people. We were very successful in securing a large media presence including local radio, TV, and press who gathered personal testimony from disabled people about the brutal reality of the work capability assessments. Our protest made the local lunchtime news and the local press ran an extensive article highlighting the issues.