Atos holds £3bn of government contracts
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/28/atos-3bn-government-contracts-paralympics
Ministers have outsourced more than £3bn of public services to Atos, the multinational IT firm whose sponsorship of the Paralympics has prompted a nationwide campaign by disability activists.
The revelations come as the company, which conducts controversial medical assessments for benefit claims on behalf of the government, reaps the benefits of its association with the Olympic and Paralympic movement. City analysts estimate that Atos’s work for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games is worth £200m in revenues. They say its sponsorship of the events helps showcase “its technology and project management capabilities”.
On Wednesday disabled protesters will deliver a coffin filled with 85 pages of complaints from people and their families who have been told they have to get a job despite suffering from serious impairments. They point out that 1,100 people died last year after failing the test for the new incapacity benefit.