2nd of February 2016
The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union
Today, the Coalition Government will be asking the Senate to support the most devastating attack waged against the unemployed since World War II.
In an open letter written to all members of the Senate, the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is demanding this cruel and punitive Bill be voted down.
Dear Senator,
The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union would like you to take a moment to consider the dangers of voting for the Coalitions proposed Bill, entitled Social Security Legislation Amendment (Further Strengthening Job Seeker Compliance) Bill 2015.
It is the least you can do.
As you know, this Bill proposes to give the employment services industry unprecedented and sweeping new powers to financially penalise unemployed Australians.
We would like to point out in the strongest possible terms that giving the dangerously under-regulated employment services industry more powers to financially penalise unemployed workers will lead to untold suffering of some of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens.
If you agree to pass this bill, the privately run employment services industry will for the first time be able to fine unemployed Australians 10% of their Newstart entitlement (increasing by 10% each day until they ‘reengage’) if they
- Fail to sign a job plan within 48 hours of it being presented to them
- Are found by the job agency to have behaved ‘inappropriately’ at an appointment (“inappropriate behaviour” is defined as acting in a manner “such that the purpose of the appointment is not achieved”).
- Fail to attend Work for the Dole or Training exercise without an excuse deemed reasonable by the job agency
Unlike the financial penalties that already exist for unemployed workers who commit the above offences, these new penalties offer no possibility of back pay upon reengagement. The minimum 10% deduction of a Newstart recipient’s payment will be immediate and permanent.
As the fine will be deducted immediately, there is no way for unemployed workers who feel that they were unfairly penalised to appeal against the fine before it takes effect. Due to Centrelink’s slow and arduous appeals process, it can take months for unemployed workers who are wrongly accused to claw back their money.
Every person in Australia should have the opportunity to appeal against an unfair fine before they are forced to pay. If you agree to pass this bill, more than 750,000 unemployed Australians will be denied this basic protection.
With the Newstart Allowance already $380 below the poverty line per fortnight, exactly how are fined unemployed workers meant to survive?
Already one in four Newstart recipients have been forced to beg on the streets, while six in ten rely on charities to survive. For many unemployed workers, one fine could mean going without proper meals or spending the night on the street.
Considering that 7 out of 10 Newstart recipients have been unemployed for longer than one year, there is simply no escape for many on Newstart. When all Newstart recipients are considered, the average duration of unemployment is more than 4 years.
As a result of Australia’s worsening jobs crisis, there are 11 job seekers competing for every job vacancy – even higher if you consider low-skill jobs.
How will fining unemployed workers help them into work when there simply are not enough jobs to go around?
With the lives of thousands of unemployed Australians teetering on a knife-edge, the harsh financial penalties proposed in this Bill will only serve push many into poverty, illness and homelessness.
The proposed financial penalties in this Bill creates a system where unemployed Australians are only one honest mistake – or one unfair decision – away from a catastrophe from which they may never recover.
The Coalition Government has stated that the introduction of similar financial penalties in July 2015 is evidence that an expanded system of financial penalties will help people into work. This is wrong.
Before you vote on this harmful bill, the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union challenge you to look at the experiences of at least one unemployed Australian who has been subjected to one of these fines, entitled a ‘No Show No Pay’ penalty.
Consider the case of Daryl McDonald, a 57 year old who was subjected to a 10% reduction of his Newstart payment by his job agency in September last year for listening to music at his work for the dole activity.
Mr. McDonald’s job agency did not warn him that if he listened to music he would be fined.
After having $54 deducted from his payment without warning in September, Mr. McDonald decided to appeal against the decision to Centrelink.
Today, more than four months after having the fine deducted from his Newstart payment, McDonald is still waiting to hear the outcome of his case and get his money back.
In his statement delivered to the Department of Human Services Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Daryl McDonald explained how the fine affected his life.
We challenge all senators who will vote on this bill to read McDonald’s below statement in full.
It is the least you can do.
“While I was doing my work on the computer, I noticed other people there were listening to music at the same time. I thought that was a good idea and thought that I would do the same.
I don’t have a lot of experience on sites like YouTube, so I was having a little trouble trying to establish something to listen to, I was just looking for audio but all I could find at the time was video. So I settled for video because I know that once I get it running, I can hide that screen at the touch of a button and go back to the drawing program while still being able to hear the music.
The Work for the Dole facilitator walked past, glanced at my monitor and said I was watching music videos. Before I could explain to him what I was actually doing he’d already walked off. Nothing more was said. I was not at any time given any warning that my unemployment payments would be jeopardised.
Very often by the time I have paid all my bills I never have enough money left to by a full two weeks worth of food. I have learnt to ration out my food and live on only two meals per day, breakfast and tea. This leaves me feeling constantly weak and low on energy. I visit a church close to home three times a week where I can get more to eat. So when I had $54.88c deducted from my dole payment it had rather a large impact, and then as the facilitator told me he just wanted me to concentrate on the work [at the Work for the Dole activity].
How was I expected to concentrate with a rumbling stomach and after what he has done?
This whole affair has been extremely stressful for me in many ways. It has affected my appetite, sleep and my job-hunting regime where I have a regular schedule put aside. I like to spend about a good six hours a week looking for work just on the computer alone, that is not including dropping into businesses to see if they have any vacancies at the moment. This appeal has taken up so much of my time I have only been able to achieve as much as I’m required, which is nowhere near enough.”
By giving the dysfunctional and under-regulated employment services industry the power to financially penalise unemployed Australians, this Bill will only push people like Daryl McDonald deeper in poverty, and ultimately, away from employment.
Vote against this proposal and protect the rights and dignity of unemployed Australians.
It’s the least you can do.
Sincerely,
The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union