The Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centre (DUWC) received a substantial annual grant to carry out tribunal representation work for people challenging decisions regarding benefit reductions and withdrawals. The funding from the country council will come to an end on March 31. The DUWC is a member of EAPN UK, and contributes a lot to the work of EAPN Europe:
- The DUWC contributed a chapter to our booklet on participation, Breaking Barriers
- The DUWC has been a member of EAPN’s Employment Working Group (EWG) for many years
- EAPN is a founding member of the Joint Social Conference / the Alter Summit, a cooperation project brining together trade unions and social movements against austerity and for another Europe – a social and sustainable one. The DUWC attended several European events organised by the JSC / AS..
- The DUWC, together with the Poverty Alliance, are the two UK partners to have provided examples featured in our video on positive and negative activation practices, Pathways to Work.
- The DUWC used to be a member of the European Network of the Unemployed (ENU), one of EAPN’s European Organisations.
- The DUWC also actively contributed to EAPN annual policy conferences,as in 2011 where their Snakes and Ladders game was presented, played by guests and decision-makers during the breaks, and arranged for Justine Bark, author of Diary of a Jobseeker to speak in the opening of the same conference.
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EAPN thanks the DUWC for these valuable contributions! Hopefully solutions can be found, so we can continue to work together in the future. We regret the decision to stop the funding and wish to express our support and solidarity!