What is the Australian Unemployed Workers Union? What are its goals? When and how did it form?
The Australian Unemployed Workers Union is an organisation run by the unemployed, for the unemployed. Formed in 2014, the AUWU’s mission is to protect the interests of the 2.8 million people looking for work, and stop the government’s ongoing assault on Australia’s social security system.
Beginning with the establishment of the Work for the Dole scheme by the Howard government in 1997-1998, there has been radical shift in how the government treats the unemployed. Almost overnight the unemployed began to be treated like criminals.
What are the political affiliations of the AUWU? Who funds the organisation?
The AUWU is not affiliated with any political parties, and is entirely self-funded.
Which organisations does the AUWU want to form alliances and relationships with? Are there particular groups that have been very supportive of your work?
The AUWU has been received very well by a number of political groups. The Anti-Poverty Network in South Australia has been particularly helpful and has been a major source of encouragement. We are looking forward to working closely with them in the future.
The response amongst Trade Unions has also been very encouraging. After our extensive campaign to build union links, we received official endorsements from National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU). We are currently in contact with a number of other unions across Australia to build up a strong relationship between unemployed and employed people. To all those union members out there, we strongly encourage you to help us by talking to your union leadership and spreading the word about the AUWU and our fight to protect the unemployed.
Unions for unemployed people existed during the Great Depression and lasted until the 1970s/80s when they died out – why is now a good time to revive them?
Yes, we have a quite a rich history of unemployment activism in Australia that goes right back to the 1920s (before we even had a welfare state). Even more recently there was a short-lived Unemployment Workers Union in the 1990s. This rich history of unemployment activism demonstrates both the need for Unemployment Unions in Australia, and the difficulties associated with keeping them active and strong.
As some of the most vulnerable people in our society, the AUWU strongly believes that all unemployed people should be politically represented. Right now, this is simply not the case.
In a capitalist society like ours, people that are ‘economically unproductive’ – such as the elderly, Disabled and unemployed people – are always going to be easy targets for governments looking to cut their costs.
However, that being said, it is more pressing now than ever before to establish a strong unemployment union in Australia. The moment that the government starts forcing the unemployed to do unpaid, largely unsupervised labour (as much as 25 hours a week) is the point where Unemployed people need to stand up for themselves and demand adequate protections. Not only that, but considering other attacks against unemployed people – most obviously the government’s plan to cut unemployed people under 30 from any benefit for 6 months, which effectively means the death of the welfare state as we know it – means that a strong organisation representing the needs of the unemployed is essential. Simply put, in the wake of all these attacks, the unemployed need a voice within Australian society so they can defend themselves.
What are some of the major challenges/problems facing unemployed people and other Centrelink clients today?
While the proposed expansion of Work for the Dole and the plan to increase the eligibility age of Newstart to 25 years old are all significant attacks on the unemployed, first and foremost, the major concern of the AUWU is the governments plan cut all unemployed people under 30s from any benefit at all for six months. By the government’s own estimates, this will plunge 110,000 people per year into extreme poverty. This policy will essentially move these people out of the dole queue and into the streets begging for assistance from charities.
This attack represents the most significant assault of the unemployed since the welfare state was first introduced in 1945. It goes against the very principles on which modern Australian society was built. Even the conservative Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies acknowledged back in 1944 that people should be able to collect unemployment and sickness benefits as “a matter of right”. It is beyond belief that a country with the resources of Australia would even consider such a destructive policy. The effects of pushing 110,000 people per year into extreme poverty will be felt not just by the unemployed who will no longer be able to afford adequate food, clothes and housing, but also by everyone else within Australian society. Crime will surely skyrocket. Businesses will suddenly have less demand for their products, meaning further unemployment, which will then in turn lead to more poverty. The flow on effects of this policy will be nothing short of disastrous for Australian society as a whole.
As well as trying to protect our welfare state from its would-be executioners, the AUWU is also strongly focussed on lifting the current low rate of Newstart, which hasn’t lifted in real terms since 1994. Relative to the average wage, for the last two decades the unemployment benefit has been in free-fall. While in 1996 the unemployment benefit was 23.7% of the average male wage (still very low), recently Newstart was calculated to be only 18.5% of the average male wage.
To give you some idea of how low the unemployment benefit has gotten in Australia, the Melbourne Institute recently calculated that a single Australian with housing costs needed $1017.04 of income per fortnight to live out of poverty. Today, Newstart is $510.50 per fortnight, just over half of what is needed to live out of poverty. Consequently, Australia has one the lowest unemployment benefits in the OECD. Even America is ahead of us!
This consistently low rate of the Newstart payment shows that we are not just fighting against the Abbott/Hockey attacks, we are also fighting against the whole political establishment in Australia which has continually forced the unemployed deeper and deeper into poverty.
It is interesting to note that the government have always justified the low rate of Newstart by saying it is meant to be a “temporary payment”. However, if you look at the facts this is simply not true. Australia’s long-term unemployed (defined as one year or more) recently skyrocketed to 170,600 in March 2014, an increase of 30% since the start of the year. At this rate the long-term unemployed would be well over 200,000. Long-term unemployed is also rife among young people (15-24 years), with at least 50,000 young people currently considered as long-term unemployed. This figure has tripled in the last six years.
How can the government expect people to live in such extreme poverty for so long? Do they really expect people who live in poverty to be able to find work, or even be employable?
What are the main problems job seekers are facing with the labour market, Centrelink. Job Networks, etc.
This brings me to probably the most important fact surrounding unemployment today: the lack of jobs available in Australia.
Today there are 700,000 unemployed, 1.1 million under-employed, and another 1 million hidden unemployed people. For this group of 2.8 million Australians looking for work, there are only 170,000 job vacancies across the country. This means there are about 17 jobseekers competing for each vacancy. Put another way, even if each and every vacancy were filled magically overnight, there would still be roughly 2.6 million job seekers left over. And yet the government and the mainstream media continue to blame the unemployed for this crisis by labelling them ‘job-snobs’ or ‘dole-bludgers’!
Consequently, the experience of most unemployed people is generally one of rejection, demoralisation, and humiliation. Centrelink and Job networks try and force the unemployed to find work that simply isn’t there.
What kinds of tactics will the AUWU use to fight for the rights and well-being of unemployed people?
Recently, the AUWU launched its 3-step plan to fight back against the government’s ongoing assault against the unemployed. With this campaign we are trying to encourage people, both employed and unemployed, to help us reach out to Australian society so we can inform them about the real situation facing unemployed people, and how this affects our society more broadly.
Basically, our plan is to make it politically impossible for the Coalition government – or any government for that matter – to continue its assault on the unemployed and our welfare state. For this purpose we have produced a leaflet introducing people to the problems facing the unemployed and are encouraging our supporters to hand out whenever and wherever they can. For anyone interested in helping the AUWU, please visit our website to sign up and volunteer.
It is important to stress that the AUWU is not just trying to reach out to unemployed people. All sections of Australian society must be brought into the struggle to save our welfare state, particularly employed people. Consequently, building up strong links with trade unions is an essential part of our strategy. While it may come as a surprise to some, employed people actually have many mutual interests with the unemployed.
Put simply, the more people who are unemployed, the more competition there are for jobs. Over time, this will drive down wages and conditions. The more difficult the government makes it to be unemployed, the more desperate the unemployed will be to accept work on any conditions, and the more workers will be undercut. It is largely because of the growing unemployed and the increasing attacks against them that real wages are currently at their worst point in 17 years.
From this perspective, it is clear that uniting the unemployed and the employed in the common struggle for a humane Australian society is essential. This is where Unemployment Unions have failed in the past. Once these two sections are united, there is no government that can stop us.
What is the AUWU’s response to the latest Budget?
In its 2016-2017 Budget, the Turnbull Government announced its plans to give Centrelink new powers to harass, humiliate, and financially penalise social security recipients. As part of the latest round of cruel attacks, the Turnbull government wants to:
• drug test social security recipients and penalise those who refuse
• give Centrelink more powers to financially penalise the unemployed
• force more people onto the Cashless Welfare system
• make it harder to get on the single parent pension
• sack over 1000 Centrelink staff and privatise call centre operations
• kick people with drug and alcohol issues off the Disability Support Pension
These measures are part of a broader attempt to effectively cripple our social security system. The result is the current mess: an overworked staff, inability to provide basic services, absurd call-waiting times, 36 million unanswered calls in 2016, not to mention the ‘robo-debt’ debacle, which saw tens of thousands of Australians defrauded by their own government! Orwell’s phrase, ‘centralised swindling machine’ comes to mind.
Turnbull is deliberately trying to make collecting social security as difficult and humiliating as possible. He wants us to feel like criminals for accepting assistance that is our legal right, assistance that is already so meagre it fails to keep us above the poverty line. Rather than investing in job-creation, Turnbull wants to grind us down with cruel measures that punish the vulnerable, the victims of poor public policy.
What is the AUWUs response to Eric Abetz’s proposal to expand Work For The Dole to all job-seekers under 50 and double the number of jobs that job-seekers must apply for to 40 per month?
The planned Expansion of World for the Dole is a major attack against the unemployed. After being introduced on 1 July 2015, this plan will force all unemployed people to Work for the Dole regardless of how long they have been looking for work. Under this plan, unemployed people under 30 will be required to Work for the Dole for 25 hours per week, unemployed people between the ages of 30-49 will be required to Work for the Dole 15 hours per week and unemployed people between the ages 50-60 will be required to do an “approved activity” for 15 hours per week.
When you consider the complete lack of jobs available in Australia, forcing hundreds of thousands of unemployed people to Work for the Dole can be seen as nothing other than a cruel form of punishment. The potential work-place dangers that await hundreds of thousands of unemployed people at these forced labour sites across the country cannot be under estimated. Who is looking after the interests of these people? What rights do unemployed people have when they are working for Dole?
To top it off, the government are also expecting all unemployed people to apply for 40 jobs a month, double the previous rate. This means there each month there will be over 30 million applications being lodged to the 146,000 job vacancies currently available in Australia! How can the government justify such stupidity?
The answer is that these attacks on the unemployed are not trying to get unemployed people into work at all. If the government wanted to do that, they would simply implement a job creation scheme, a tactic that has been used to great effect throughout Australia’s history. What the government really wants is change our attitude to how Australia society should operate. According to the government, unemployment people are not ‘entitled’ to any government support. They have to work for it. Students are not ‘entitled’ to an education; they have to pay for it. The sick, disabled and elderly are not ‘entitled’ to healthcare; they have to pay for it. If you want something, no matter who you are, you will have work for it.
Andrew Forrest has recently released his Indigenous Employment and Training Review, calling for all working-age income support recipients (2.5 million people) to have 100 percent of their funds restricted through Income Management – what does the AUWU think of his idea?
Firstly, the idea of billionaires mining magnates being able to influence government policy is ridiculous. Who elected this man? What ever happened to democracy in Australia?
And secondly, it comes as no surprise that a billionaire would suggest that attacking the unemployed is the best way to fix our country’s shameful neglect of Indigenous Australians. As a billionaire mining magnate, one wouldn’t expect him to come up with any other solution, as attacking the unemployed conveniently puts a downward pressure on wages and conditions.
However, it must be noted that Forrest’s suggestion to restrict the income of all the unemployed people through income management is nothing new. Income management has already been introduced in many areas across Australia such as Bankstown (NSW), Playford (SA) Rockhampton (QLD) and throughout the Northern Territory affecting thousands of people. Indigenous community have been particularly affected. While the government has justified income management on the basis that it protects people from substance abuse and addiction, the real role of income management is so the government can maintain its very low Newstart rate. The Newstart rate has become so low that the government is worried people will not survive unless the government makes sure all of it is spent on food and essentials! The introduction of schemes like income management in low socio-economic has made it easier for the government to continue lowering the Newstart allowance. Accordingly, the government has recently frozen the rate of Newstart for the next three years, meaning it will not keep up with inflation and will actually decrease in real terms. While it looks that Forrest’s suggestion will not be taken up right now, one expects it to be be put back on the table later on as those on Newstart sink deeper and deeper into poverty.
Why does the AUWU think unemployed people and other people on income support payments are so frequently attacked by governments? What makes them so vulnerable as a group?
With capitalist societies like ours, you are only truly valued by the government if you are ‘economically productive’. Thus people who don’t fall into this category, such as the elderly, the unemployed and the disabled, are easy targets for those in power. The bottom line is that the government is far more concerned with keeping the economy producing an acceptable rate that ensuring the well being of the most vulnerable sections of society. As long as there is no opposition, the government has nothing to loose by attacking those who are ‘economically unproductive’.
Not content with just making life harder for society’s most vulnerable people, the government, along with the mainstream media, are also waging a vicious propaganda campaign against these ‘economically unproductive’ people. Here, they are trying to turn the ‘economically productive’ areas of society against them, thus clearing the way for ongoing attacks. It is for this reason that the AUWU has created a campaign to build links between the unemployed and the rest of Australian society, particularly trade unions. As soon as the unemployed and employed realise their united interests in creating a humane and fair welfare state in Australia, then – and only then – will we be able to create a humane welfare state for generations to come
Why do harsh, punitive policies like Income Management and Work For The Dole are relatively popular among the broader public, despite there being little evidence these policies improve economic and social outcomes for struggling low-income people?
The simple answer is brainwashing. There is no other explanation. The government, along with the mass media, have for decades been trying to whip up ill feeling toward the unemployed. By labelling the unemployed ‘job-snobs’ and ‘dole-bludgers’ and blaming them for the government’s failure to create enough jobs they are serving two important functions:
Firstly, the government manage to avoid any blame or responsibility for its continual failure to create enough employment and instead direct all blame against the unemployed themselves.
Secondly, aware of the potential threat of a united and organised force of employed and unemployed people, the government manage to divide these two camps.
How can people individuals and organisations get involved? What kinds of resources and support do you need to get off the ground?
At the AUWU we are building up a strong online presence and are active on Facebook, Twitter and our website. We encourage anyone interested in helping us to visit our volunteer page on our website and read our three-step plan to protect the unemployed and the welfare state more broadly. In brief these tasks are:
(1) Unite the unemployed so e can fight together against the attacks;
(2) Educate the population about the real nature of being unemployed and the government’s failure to create enough jobs; and
(3) Bring employed people and trade unions into the common struggle to save our welfare state and ensure a living wage for all workers.
We ask that people donate their time – no matter how small – to help us grow. We welcome any ideas you may have to assist in this struggle, but right now our focus is to try and get our message out to Australian society through our brochure and building union links. And its completely free to join!
How are attacks on welfare recipients and attacks on workers connected?
To answer this question, let us briefly explain the history of how since the 1970s successive Australian government have systematically undermined the power of workers by bashing the unemployed.
Between 1942-1974, the unemployment rate in Australia averaged around 2%. This was considered full employment at the time, and as a result of the low rate of unemployment, working people in Australia were given unprecedented security and bargaining power in day-to-day negotiations over the sale of their labour power. Trade Unions flourished during this period as membership rates peaked at 60% during the mid 1950s. This was a familiar story throughout the OECD.
By the late 1960s, big business and their representatives became deeply frustrated at the political and economic power full employment gave to workers. By the 1970s, there was a massive push by big business to have full employment abandoned as the favoured economic policy in order to weaken the irresistible power of organised labour. And this is exactly what happened.
After 1975, unemployment in Australia rapidly tripled to around 6% and has averaged around 7% ever since. This tactic worked spectacularly for business as Trade Union membership plummeted, which in turn led to a massive stagnation of real wages in Australia leading to higher profits for business. As the pool of impoverished unemployed and underemployed workers skyrocketed in Australia, business found they could play workers off against each other in order to drive wages down and weaken the power of trade unions.
By tripling the amount of unemployed workers in Australia – and subsequently paying them an insufficient unemployment entitlement and labelling them with humiliating labels like ‘dole bludger’ or ‘welfare cheat’ – from the mid 1970s onwards big business and its representatives have been able to systematically undermine the power of working people.
The basic idea is to make the unemployed and underemployed so desperate, so impoverished, that they would be willing to accept almost any work at any conditions. As a direct result of this, today the growth of real wages has fallen to its lowest rate for 17 years.
Consequently, making life difficult for welfare recipients is an essential part of this wider plan attacking working people.
The insufficient rate of the Newstart benefit – which has not been increased in real terms since 1994 – must be viewed in this way.
So too the Work for the Dole scheme, which after 1 July will be expanded across the forcing unemployed people to conduct unpaid labour much sooner into their period of unemployment (6 months instead of 1 year), and for longer (25 hours per week instead of 15).
The Government’s decision to give privately owned Employment Service Providers with the power to fine Newstart recipients who fail to attend their Job Search appointment without a valid excuse is another similar to technique.
Income management, the privatization of Employment services, the harsh eligibility requirements for Disability Support, the raising of the retirement age, the tightening of the Single Parent Benefit and low rates of payment’s across the board are further examples. It is no exaggeration to say that as a result of these ongoing attacks today is the worst time in Australia’s post war history to be unemployed.
In order to prevent the continual decline of the working movement, it is essential that unemployed and employed workers unite in a common struggle to achieve full employment, and ultimately, a more humane society.
What are some strategies for bringing together struggles by workers and unions, and struggles by unemployed people and others on income support payments? How do you convince workers that they have an interest in defending those on Centrelink payments?
The AUWU is currently conducting a campaign to formalise our relationship with the Trade Union movement. While this will no doubt be an up hill struggle given the state of the trade union movement today, we are confident that this it is only a matter of time before unemployed and employed people realise their common interests. For example, Tony Abbott’s recent statement that Work For the Dole will give business the opportunity to “try before you buy” is a clear attack on Trade Unions. We believe that in this situation Trade unions and their members will be more easily convinced of the importance of bringing together of employed and unemployed workers in a common struggle for a fair society.
What is the AUWU Union’s “Fight The Fine” campaign? Who are you trying to target?
On 1 July 2015, the Abbott Government will introduce legislation that will effectively give the privately owned and operated Employment Service Providers the unprecedented power to fine the unemployed for missing their Job Search appointments.
If found to have missed an appointment without a ‘reasonable excuse’, Newstart recipients will stand to be fined one tenth of their Newstart entitlement, or roughly $50. Considering the already inadequate rate of Newstart benefit – which is $280 per fortnight below the poverty line – this punitive measure will only serve to push the unemployed further into poverty and ultimately away from employment.
This punitive legislation is a shameless attempt by the Federal Government to avoid their responsibility to solve the on-going unemployment crisis, in which there are 11 Job Seekers competing for every job vacancy.
In opposing this harsh law, the AUWU will be running a national ‘fight the fine’ campaign on 1 July and have already organized events in Melbourne and Adelaide.
In our campaign, we will be challenging both the government’s unprecedented attack on the unemployed and the prominent role this fine gives to the privately owned and operated Employment Service Providers.
A number of these Employment Service Providers – including the so-called ‘charitable’ agencies – have been routinely exposed as money-hungry organisations that treat the unemployed merely as a means to make money. This has resulted in the systematic mistreatment of the unemployed, as organisations force the unemployed do whatever is necessary to maximise their Government funding.
Rather than give the Employment Service Providers more powers to punish the unemployed, we demand that the Government investigate the Employment Service Providers for its harsh treatment of the unemployed.
Recently, the US-owned Employment Service Provider Max Employment threatened to sue the AUWU over our campaign exposing their cruel treatment of the unemployed.
After receiving two letters of legal threats, we decided to organise protests outside Max Employment’s offices in Melbourne and Adelaide on 1 July. At these protests we will focus not only on Max Employment’s bullying tactics, but also the Abbott government’s ongoing encouragement for the cruel treatment of the unemployed by the privately owned and operated Employment Service Providers.
The Government’s recent decision to reward Max Employment with a 5-year $800 million dollar contract sends a clear message to other Employment Service Providers that harsh treatment of the unemployed is not just tolerated, but encouraged.
In this way, the Government effectively use Employment Service Providers as hired-guns to punish the unemployed. This new fine will continue this well-established policy.
If you are interested in helping us organise a ‘Fight the Fine’ rally in your local area on 1 July, please contact us by email or on our Facebook page. The more volunteers we have, the better equipped we will be to fight this cruel attack on the unemployed.
What are some of the most common myths you have encountered about welfare and unemployment?
The biggest and more enduring myth around unemployment is undoubtedly that unemployed people could find work if they tried hard enough, and are therefore labelled ‘dole bludgers’ and ‘job snobs’.
This belief completely ignores the wider picture of the Australian economy in which according to the latest ABS figures, there are 17 job seekers competing for each job vacancy. Even if each and every vacancy were filled overnight, the stats show there would still be roughly 2.6 million job seekers left over. Clearly, it is not a problem involving the unemployed but rather a problem concerning Australia’s wider economic management
2015 marks the 21st anniversary of the last time Newstart Allowance was raised in real terms, with the payment now over $140 per week below the poverty-line. Why do both major political parties refuse to raise the incomes of the unemployed?
Keeping the unemployment benefit well below the poverty line is an essential part of the Australia’s long-established economic policy that keeps real wages down for workers, thus helping businesses maximise their profits.
The basic idea is to make the unemployed and underemployed so desperate, so impoverished, that they would be willing to accept almost any work at any conditions. As a direct result of this, today the growth of real wages has fallen to its lowest rate for 17 years. [repeated phrase!]
‘What else could trade unions be doing to fight for unemployed people and others on welfare payments? For example, should the ACTU being calling for Newstart to be raised by more than $50 per week (their current demand)?
Ever since we formed, the AUWU have been campaigning for the Trade Union movement to fight for the rights and dignity of the unemployed. It is essential that the Trade Union movement understand that every attack launched against the unemployed is designed and executed as an attack on the workers as a whole. We are all workers: our struggles are theirs, and their struggles are ours. This reality must be reflected in the way Trade Unions operate. Thus, we are asking the Trade Union movement to join us in opposing the raft of punitive policies aimed at the unemployed. Work for the Dole is a particularly important issue for Trade Unions to oppose, as it is a scheme which was found by the productivity commission to directly force down the growth of real wages. Therefore, WFTD represents a great opportunity for the political collaborations of employed and unemployed workers.
How important do you think it is that we challenge the government’s use of language and how it defines key concepts, when it comes to poor people? Do you think terms like ‘welfare recipient’ and ‘Centrelink client’ are problematic?
The way the Government and the mass media present the unemployed is a major barrier restricting the development of the AUWU. By demonizing the unemployed as ‘job snobs’, ‘leaners’, ‘welfare cheats’ and ‘lazy’, the Government is not only trying to turn employed workers against the unemployed, it is also is deeply humiliating for unemployed people themselves. While handing out leaflets in Centrelinks, on many occasions I get a luke warm reception from the unemployed as they feel embarrassed for even being there. The last thing they want to do is rise up and fight for the rights and dignity of the unemployed! Being unemployed is as much of an internal struggle as anything else. It is no surprise then, that it was recently found that unemployment is a major cause of mental illness and even suicide.
What we need to do then is reframe what unemployment is by smashing the myth of the ‘job snob’ and educating people on what the reality of unemployment is.
Please could I assist you with proof reading your website. What you are doing is very worthwhile.
Sure, the more help the better. Please contact us at contact@unemployedworkersunion.com to work it out
I follow you on Twitter – does that make me a member of the union?
I like & agree with much of what is said on this website, however I’d like to discuss the idea of Council work & propose a viable option.
Is anyone interested?
Regards
Chris
@landrights4all (Twitter)
Sure, please understand that union is a way of being as much as being on any list. If you can join through the website and join the facebook page, and then communicate positive (on a weekly or fortnightly basis), then you are a member of the union. Relevant information you possess which has value to the group should be communicated and thereby disseminated to the group at large.
All nodes are welcome chris 🙂
Brilliant info in above article. We should copy some of the important points , print it out and send to managers of the JSA’s such as Sarina Russo, Reed In Partnership, Mission Australia etc.
Feedback: Sarino Russo agency representatives are inefficient, uninformed, mostly unqualified and unhelpful. My experience with SR in NSW and Victoria – what SR claims, the values the organisation advertise are not the reality! Even the jobs advertised in their own organisation are not up to industry standards. Today I had a SR ‘consultant’ of around 19 trying to advise me (middle age, qualified professional with multiple degrees) on topics and issues she has no personal experience of or insight into.
Hi Gail
one of the problems with current “psychological thinking” is around motivation. You might like to read Dr Bob Montgomery’s book “The truth about motivation”. Life coaching and similar motivational assistance oversimplifies the often complex nature of human relations. Often it undermines key values such as: loyalty, staying power, sharing, mutual concern, give and take etc.
For example “empowerment” is bandied around eg you have a choice to work for this employer or another. In later life your superannuation may be tied to a particular industry or employer – so your choices may be more limited than for a 19 year old who after 2 weeks finds out their boss is a bully. They just leave, do something casual to get a good reference and start again. Young people may be more flexible in ending relationships – eg to travel overseas. The two weeks of bullying just disappears off their resume. Of course a young single parent and a 35 yo parent of a 2 yo may have more in common than they think at first.
Job network agencies are evaluated on their performance. It sounds like you would be a good person to work in a Job Network Agency – you would boost their statistics in terms of helping mature age workers.
Sarino Russo is the worst agency I have come accross.
My father died and they punished me by stopping my payments..
now with no money..They tell me to re-apply.. they forced me to use there psycologist then stopped my payment and will not give me the name of the psycologist I saw..
I have
If you do that then the manager will raise that in his regular meetings and tell his staff he has identified a “potential troublemaker” and have his JSA personell to make things more difficult than they are.JSA agencies say “oh we are not recruiters”….but they still act just as unscrupulous discriminatory and as abusive towards basic human rights.How come on my JSA Jobs website account has it got jobs applied for=x amount….and when I click on “jobs I have been referred to=0!?
So I have been lied to when they say they have “forwarded” on my CV…etc.
The JSA’s DO ACT AND THINK like recruiters because I have proof now that these employers they liaise with are doing pick and choose dictate to them what they want deals so tommorow at this next appointment this mad ignorant bitch has booked for me(psychologist)….I am going to get my consultant into the room when having that appointment and raise this in front of psychologist and ask for an accurate truthful explanation……maybe even get her boss into that room as he is the one that is making these executive descicions and regardless of how many I’ve applied for the emphasis will be on how 0 little he has actually forwarded on…..and I ain’t taking this stoop to a whole new level of low because my JSA’s motto reads…..”giving everybody every chance”!??
I have fun with, cause I found exactly what I used to be having a look for.
You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day.
Bye
Over 55’s can do volunteering instead of work for the dole. Is AUU one of the organisations permitted to have volunteers? (Eligible orgs. Have to be non profit and come under the umbrella of Volunteering Australia org. I understand). And if so, can disability job advisor companies refuse to allow you to volunteer for AUU?
Keep up the very worthwhile campaigns. Well done and when you start in Canberra, I’d like to assist in some way, eg hand out some brochures, man a booth, be part of a rally at Parliament House.
I wish to volunteer or be a delegate I was working in the trade union movement before a golden handshake and now I am on the “rock and roll” the system is a joke we are people not cattle with rights and dignity I have emailed an application form but thought I would post here as well so other can see we should all be involved I am in WA
Sorry body. But in Australia you were never a Citizen. Australia used to be a Penal Colony and still is, only these days they call it the Private Prisons Industrial Complex and is American owned. In those dark days you used to work for nothing and for the Australian Landed Gentry who were the third richest in the world, precisely because they got land for nothing on 99 year Leases and convict slave labour. It was an Irishmen who gave us our constitution and then we spent the next 100 years racing of to war, 19 times in 163 odd years to help England rape, pillage and plunder. In return England kept buying Junk of our Landed masters while Australians workers died of lead poisoning 19 times. From the 70’s onwards that religious mob that backed Abbott also helped the Libs to destroy the Labour Movements with the help of Europeans who came here to get rich quick and keep on breeding. The modern version of the old penal colony is created to take advantage of even more slave labour, their America Companies and America has the highest incarceration rates in the world, why? Slave labour. The British South was built on slave labour. We have poverty to create prisoners for our American Prison Complex. The government creates austerity that creates domestic violence and then civil society collapse, they always have and always will. Go to YouTube, find The CEC Report and any video’s featuring Nomi Prins where you will learn the reason behind the deliberate Banking Collapse, Bail outs and the 0% interest rates only aimed at Corporations, in other words Socialism for the rich or Fascism as it was once known and America was a Fascist Country long before the Germans or Italians, naturally when England went broke, the British empire collapsed so we had to join the next Empire, America and now we are American and adoptive of their Fascist System. Long story short we are screwed. lets hope Bernie Sanders gets in over there or we will all be in prison slaving away for little comfort or even democracy, something we never really had. One of the biggest lies ever told to dummy’s. Shame on Australia and Australian low life politicians for selling Australia down the tube.
Hi, i have just been told i am now in the work for the dole faze. I’m very scared about this because i don’t feel i’m ready to work. my father passed away 12 weeks ago and i’m still grieving the loss, i also suffer with social anxiety, and am a sole parent of 4 kids, three of them are under 18. I feel like this is going to tip me over the edge.
hi Rebecca,
may I suggest you go to a GP and ask for referal to see supportive health professional. Be honest, and open about what is going on for you. Your mental & physical health is vital and you, along with other (single) mums & dads are doing an amazing job! Australian women of my generation and earlier actually fought for the system that is here, for the very reasons we need to stand together and ensure it remains.,and improves. Unemployment or under-employment is not a “disease”. Poverty is not contageous, and nothing to be ashamed of. Not funny when you don’t even have enough money for the phonebox. I was a married mother, then break-up, so became single mum of 5 x young school age children in an isolated rural area where access to (mainstream) support was abysmal. You are stronger than you realise, but having said that.. I suffered a type of breakdown. Only work available was forestry – 5 am start planting 2000 trees.. then come home to cook, clean etc. (social anxiety, but most likely in retrospect physical & mental exhaustion, and low self esteem). Be proud of what you achieve with the resources you have, regardless of your financial situation. Enjoy the little things 😀 Sorry for the ramble…
Do you have to be unemployed to join ? I strongly believe in your path and as a work for the dole (WFD) supervisor can see the benefit WFD brings. 0 % employment is a utopian dream , respect, purpose and understanding I feel is a key group ideal.
This is great! I’d been wondering whether we should start something that deals with the real picture for the 50+ age group seeking work.
I’ve just turned 60. Thanks for the information on my obligations.
I’m still seeking paid work. In part this is because I still have not been granted Centrelink – it’s not their fault – it’s disability related and under review etc.
Consequently I have to sell everything I can on eBay/Gumtree to have money for food, petrol, phone, internet and no luxuries.
I want to be back working and paid. I’ve never had problems getting work before. My best option seems to be self employment – just like the last recession.
Being an older worker … I see the looks on employer’s faces when they realise that I’m an older worker. What everyone – from the Prime Minister to the local govt street sweeper need to know: we still have to eat, have shelter and other basic survival needs regardless of how old we are. It’s well and truly time that age discrimination be hosed out for what it is: utterly ridiculous. And yet I hear stories of insurance being denied to self employed older Australian workers etc. If the government and its agencies don’t lead by example (and demonstrate pro-age employment strategies) there’s little or no chance that any significant number of private sector employers will make a real effort to see the exceptional value in older workers and put them/us on the payroll – NOW, not later.
Is there anyone else in the Gold Coast or Northern Rivers involved in the AUWU?
I am not unemployed yet as I am a fulltime carer. But after reading some of the experiences on this site it’s frightening. I was terminated by my last employer for being an injured worker and I was transferred to their insurance company, I was treated like a criminal and put under constant surveillance. I made a claim at the workers comp commission and settled for a small sum – which centrelink than took 90% out of – as I should have been receiving workers comp from the insurer instead.
I am 57 and worried about my future job prospects. These job providers sound just like insurance companies, so I’m glad I’ve discovered this site, as I’m sure I’m gonna need some unbiased advice in the future. I can’t stand this liberal government and the police state we have now become under tony abbott’s watch and now Malcolm turnbull. I very much believe in a fair days work, for a fair days pay, but I won’t be bullied by anyone. So thankyou for developing this site – it is obviously much needed.
Hi,
I am over 55 and doing 15 hpw volonteer work with a centrelink approved organisation. I set this up with centrelink and although I have a Jobactive provider, I do not need to have appointments with them. I also do not need to apply for any Jobs , but apparently I have to accept a Job if my Jobactive provider finds one for me (Ha Ha).
So my question is …. Do I have to do this volunteer work all year OR do I only have to do it for 6 months ? If it is only for 6 months during my WFTD phase, when I finish the Volunteer work do I then revert back to having to meet with my Jobactive Provider periodically and also apply for 20 jobs per month.
I have read through your Unemployed Workers Rights document but cannot find where this area is covered.
Thanks for your assistance
Lou
Hi Lou
you do nor gave to do volunteer work. Volunteer work exempts you from demonstrating you have a job diary -looking for work. Being over 55 you will have a blue pensioner card – use it as much as you can. If you have health problems. Ask Centreliink in writing to be put on a program of support. This is essential if you think you may need a disabiltiy pension. It is a requirement The processes unemployed people are put through actually cause disability – not joking! The system stinks!
You need to keep contact with local MPs – state and Federal and let them know what are your barriers to employment. Finally WRITE TO THEM ASKING THAT THE MATURE AGE ALLOWANC for over 55s is reinstated. If ypu feel “down” see your doctor immediately and ask them to priint out a Centrelink medical certificate for 4 weeks. Then you are exempt frpm volunteer work.
Post script:
The first cetificate should be four weeks and then follow up certificates no longer than 2 weeks back to back.
Hi Lou
I am a volunteer at Vinnies I have been doing this for nearly 3 months now. I do 15 hours a week and to be honest I really enjoy the work
that I do, it makes me feel more productive and keeps the mind stimulated especially working with good people maybe one day I might actually get a job out of it as a casual or a permanent employee Anyway back to your question.
You get 6 months and when yours 6 months is up you can apply for another 6 months. centrelink makes an appointment for you when your 6 months of work for the dole is up and then they will arrange for another 6 months for you, my job provider said I could keep doing the volunteer work till my retirement age. As far as I know I don’t even think my provider has even checked whether I have been doing my work for the dole.
I hope this helped you with your question. Good luck
Who was your provider
If I may make a comment after reading much of this site, I notice that nearly everything is geared to “what is the Government doing for me?”
The effort being undertaken is, “I looked at every Government assistance program and no one could do anything for me.”
If I could pose a question, if you went to a dentist and while sitting in the chair he advised he wasn’t a dentist but thought it was a good idea to cherade as one, how long would you sit in the chair?
Should someone turn up at a place where works seems to be done and the request is “Got any work” and all you are offering is a living beathing organism, don’t be surprised at the outcome.
Its all about actually having a skill – creating one or improving one you have that might be useful to others. The start might be menial, offering a pub that you will be there at 4 am to toss out the empties every morning, a job the owner has to do, or something they didn’t think anyone else would do.
The answer is to make yourself useful. Initiative is what it takes. Another example, go to your local op-shop and tell them to give you something you believe you could sell at the weekend flea market. Sell it, take to them what the op-shop was hoping to sell for and pocket the rest. Rinse and repeat.
I you intend to improve your lot, then start to think of yourself as business, buy low sell high keep your costs at nothing, optimise your time. You don’t need a stall, a card table will do.
Work and reward isn’t about getting a seat in an airconditioned office, its about doing something you want to do, that you like doing and people are prepared to give you money for something they can’t do themselves. So what skills do you have you can use in your spare time or evenings? Do you have a few tools in the shed, what can you do with them..make some artwork perhaps. The point is to try and grow by learning what works.
Once you start to show initaitive even if its not so successful even a failure, you will have learned about what it takes to sell, so the next employment opportunity you attend you can talk about that experience instead of complaining how long you did nothing. Employers want skilled people but they also value initiative. Even failing at trying demonstrates a preparedness to learn.
Bleating about how the Government doesn’t help you when face to face with a small business owner who has to get out of bed early every day, show initiative and back themselves every day to earn a crust. But they might be prepared to offer a chance to someone who they have empathy for or with and who might be helpful with their own work load.
A key rule in life is that the harder you try and the harder you work the luckier you get.
Hi John
while you make some interesting points. It is often underemployment that is more complex. People need to live. When I say to blokes my wages they say “I wouldnt get out of bed for such low wages!”
Hi John
your emphasis on having a skill is important. However, so many things now require a licence too. – Gaming licence, secuirty licence, food handling certificate, responsible serving of alcohol, etc. etc. These all cost money. Security licence is $3,000 for course $99 for finger print check, $80 for Working with children card and a 3 year licence for $500. It all adds up. Newstart is $340 below the poverty line.
There are fewer full time jobs so people often work several part-time jobs and get hit for multiple licences. Its all for Govt coffers and is beauracracy gone mad.
We have gone right back to the time of the Eureka Stockade and the Government charging more for a Miner’s Right than a miner could find in their claim. Taxi Driver’s are up in arms about their losses with taxi licences. I agree with other peoples calls for a Volunteers Strike in 2017.
Hi John,
I have worked within the warehousing and distribution industries for many years. I started as a pick n pack person and made my way up to the boss. When employing someone today initiative has nothing to do with it. When speaking to the person you are assessing whether they can work well in a team, whether they can do as the job demands and finally whether they have the correct tickets and licenses. Being a go getter makes no difference.
Hi John,
Here’s a part transcript from ABC/RN Life Matters Tues 10/11/2017 9:06AM
How are small businesses addressing mental health?
AMANDA SMITH Leanne Faulkner is a small business owner and mental health advocate, the founder of a successful start-up, https://www.billiegoatsoap.com.au that at its peak turned over $2M/yr. She’s won multiple business awards and seemed to be living the entrepreneurial dream.
LEANNE FAULKNER The business moved from kitchen based then into the backyard and the to a quite a major factory…. In 2011 things were starting to slow…it was really the after-effects of the GFC. So as the business slowed so did my mental health, and I thought, well, if the business is failing then I must be a failure…. I found myself crying on the way to work, trying to get myself together to get into that office and then eventually got to the stage where I WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO WORK AND I JUST COULDN’T PHYSICALLY WALK INTO THAT OFFICE. (Can you believe this John, able bodied woman physically unable to work? Some JSA staff can’t believe it, they call mentally ill job seekers liars and penalise them for no-shows even when they’ve phoned in). LEANNE I was diagnosed with situational depression and was off work for about three months or so.
EVERYMIND CEO, JAELEA SKEHAN There’s a stigma associated with mental illness making it difficult to open up. LEANNE I spent a lot of time in my office with the door closed (to avoid revealing she had problems). AMANDA Do you wish you had? LEANNE Yes, I can see how different my experience might have been if I had…. I couldn’t just talk myself out of it and get myself together. I had to reach out and connect with others and get some help. (So good on job seekers who write frankly about their problems).
John, when there are 17 job seekers per vacancy guess who misses out? It’s common knowledge that 20% us have mental health problems, so should it be surprising that a higher percentage of unemployed people have such problems than employed people? Makes the Jobactive/DES/DMS scheme look vindictive, don’t you think?
Government policy in Australia is aimed clearly towards creating a larger “people payment department” through amalgamating medicare, centrelink, child support, child care payments.
This larger Department of Human Services is then called “WELFARE”. Then the Government argues that “WELFARE” makes up one-third of the Budget. Ashamedly we Feminists have been silent about including Child Care Payments and Child Support payments in this WELFARE LABELLING.
Centrelink continues to implement policies created by the Department of Employment. This causes internal tension between payment staff and support staff – internal arguments. (primarily because the Department heads promise reduced costs.) Yet by the Department of Employment does not fund or pay for any Centrelink costs. The Department of Employment gets a free ride. The over fifty fives who do volunteer work to get Centrelink off their backs continue to give the Department of Employment another free ride. We should not volunteer – we should not support a NATIONAL LIE.
Senator Jacqui Lambie and the RSL would writhe with anger if the bureaucrats included VETERANS in the same payment Department.
The Department of Employment gets off “SCOTT FREE” every time. The Australian Bureau of Statistics gets off “SCOTT FREE” every time its surveys include “one our per week” as “being employed”. Our Feminist anger should be directed toward the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Employment.
The media colludes in this NATIONAL LIE. Treasurer MP SCOTT Morrison fudges the figures with this LIE. Age pensioners, Disability pensioners, orphans, children and women suffer with this lie.
One payment that should be included above is Austudy and student allowances. Carer allowance and Carer payment should also be included. I am not sure about Abstudy which Department pays that. But isn’t it meant to be denigrating to include them in “Welfare” when Carers are looking after older and disabled people. People who in other cultures who are respected as “ancestors” and elders – they should not begrudged our Nation’s support and family member respect and care.
Also students who give their time to make Australia great through commitment to research and finding solutions to National problems should not be denigrated either. We should support their “wellbeing”.
In reflection Australian soldiers returning from war were housed in “Welfare Parade, Ashburton, Victoria” and greeted by “Betterment Parade, Corowa, NSW” these were positive attitudes to caring for others.
Those wishing to avoid or mininmise their contribution through paying tax are belidgerent to those who contribute to our Nation building.
Good on you Eva, Happy Australia Day everyone!
QUICK FACT – childcare is provided for 837,000 children by their grandparents in Australia!
source National Seniors Productive Ageing Centre.
Do you care for your grandchildren and does this mean you have difficulty looking for work.
Think outside the square……
If you are over 55 …… pop into your local Community House or Neighbourhood Learning Centre to see if they are approved by Centrelink for volunteer work for the dole. If so then offer as a volunteer child minding worker if your grandchildren can come with you. Then—–two birds are hit with the same stone, so to speak. The Neighbourhood House will help you get a Working With Children Card. End result – you qualify as a over 55 volunteer, no job searching is required and your grandchildren still have you close at hand.
FAQ answer:
760,000 people use left over food banks. The suggestion of a National Volunteers Strike before Easter 2017 was a good one.
Hi. I’m coming into the work for the dole phase but am currently getting some regular paid work and expecting the work to increase fairly quickly. I see on your site that a reduction in newstart means I do not have to do work for the dole. As I have working credits, my reductions are currently coming out of that and not the principal newstart allowance. What is my stance here? Do I need to sometimes attend work for the dole and also work part time? I do cleaning and music lessons and therefore have changing timetables while travelling to areas far from the work for the dole activity? Is it a certain amount of hours worked each week or reduction in the principal of newstart allowance that eliminates the work for the dole?
Thank you,
Miche
Interesting, I am 60 and Max Employment is on my back all the time, but they don’t do anything, they won’t let me change an appointment, even when I am really unwell, but they cancel often if the person I am to see is sick they cancel. UNWELL, is not something I ever imagined, but in 2010 after returning from overseas working on a boat, I could not find work, I started up a small business on my credit card, it was OK but I did not have the money for marketing or help. meanwhile, I took temp jobs where available, I had a chronic back issue I could barely stand and I cried a lot, standing on a tram all the way to the city, only to be worked like a dog as I was a temp, I didn’t mind they pay by the hour, funny businesses don’t want to pay for a full time person but they don’t want a temp to charge for 10 hours a day. I was lucky to get a job in QLD so I moved, meanwhile I did try to continue my small business. In the end, my Hip went then my foot that I broke in 2000, I have been a mess, Centrelink money has been helpful, but at 60 with nothing. I need a hip replacement and thankfully I just had a cortisone injection which after 24 hours is still working. So getting to the point, I am unable to function for more than a couple of hours, how do I in all honesty even apply for a job, that I know I will not be able to finish. I have worked since I was 15 and this is my reward, I never had unemployment when I was young or before the age of 50, and they keep moving the goal posts. It’s all part of the plan to get us poorer and poorer so they can take it all. I have contemplated suicide because I can’t continue this way, thankfully I live with my brother now, but no one can manage on Newstart. What about all the bills, I just paid $150 for an injection that’s with a rebate, $200 to the foot specialist, $300 to the hip specialist, I went for another opinion another $200. I also have to do Pilates reformer which costs an arm and a leg but without it, I can’t move. If I cannot get any help with my hip and foot, I will be ending it. I am beginning to feel what is the point. I know that this has nothing to do with politics and unions. As I came across this site searching for volunteering, but I can’t even do that at the moment. My dr wants to give me antidepressants their answer to all that ails you. I would not be depressed if I could get my physical problems which has me pretty much laying in bed, I can’t sit and I can’t stand. Quite frankly I am sick of laying around, I am a super active person, well I used to be, now I can’t see what I am good for. I so got off the track again, having a bit of express yourself moment. PS imagine if I could get a job and what I could save, now that I live with my brother, so hell yes I want to work till I drop, but I can’t. 10 years ago, I had a different idea about disability now I have experienced it first hand. let’s just say I feel differently about it now and I feel for anyone else going through this.
Dear Louise,
just after I turned 50 I was about where you are today – in pain, had two surgeries on my back, not able to support myself, and though lucky to have some family like you do, I still couldn’t stop crying as it was difficult to accept such a huge change in my previously independent and active life. That was soon 7 years ago. One day after several visits to Centrelink I was lucky to get that one rare person who listened emphatically and he gave me advice on what my possibilities are at that moment. Doctors appointments, psychologist appointments, Centrelink assessment appointments and I got moved to Disability Employment Providers. I don’t know if you are able to get yourself changed to them, but I recommend trying.
Although the focus there was also on employment, I felt that I had some support and I could breathe! The ‘approved activities’ started with psychologist appointments and group therapy as well as some physiotherapy. I was able to start thinking straight after couple of months. I realised, that I did not want to give up – I was going to fight the situation, the pain, and the unemployment.
I decided to enrol to study the following year, to use my mind more where I wasn’t able to use my body as much. I even found some casual work while studying – not enough to divorce Centrelink, but it helped. I was lucky. I was happy for a while and I believe I got stronger. I learned to be kind to myself – that I am worth it. So are you. I realised, that the person I now have – back with Max Employment – is just a bitter, envious, self centred individual. She has been given the power to belittle and threaten me on a weekly basis – this week alone I was asked to come to the office three times! That’s why I am reading this site – trying to find ways to fight back a strong front from a lonely position, or is it? Maybe right here I will find strength in a group to make a difference one day soon. You are also needed. But first, please look after yourself. Get stronger. Be kind to yourself. You really are worth it.
I want to help fight for the oppressed people who have been ripped of our rights and dignity by this cruel government. We must stand together to unite the down trodden! AUWU!
Centrelink is the most disgraceful attack on human rights in this country i have ever experienced in my 64 years on this planet. until recently i have never required the services of this organisation and sincerely hoped i never would, but a workplace injury in South Australia has changed all that and along with recent changes to Workcover Laws in this state i now find myself at their Mercy.I simply no longer understand why this so called Department of Human Services exists because they do nothing to Service your need when it is required,they will humiliate you, ignore you, never trust you and continually loose or misrepresent your files in such a way that you will feel humiliate,lost and degraded to the point of Suicide , they are supposed to be the last place in society where you are able to seek help financially or otherwise in times of need and in a country like Australia with its vast wealth i feel ashamed to have been treated in such a degrading manner after having worked and been fortunate over the journey to contribute to my Countries prosperity i now just cannot believe it has got to this level of benevolence, the country i grew up in and worked in was one that cared for its citizens and that now is clearly a misguided judgement on my behalf.
I’ve been studying at university for 6 years trying to complete my bachelor degree in archaeology during that time I started studying full time to start with but couldn’t handle the study load so I studied part time then back to full time and back to part time. Ive also done work for the dole for in between studying. I also volunteered at the south Australian museum for 6 years and now volunteer at Adelaide zoo.
I was studying part time for the last two years because I was taken off aus study because I couldn’t be on it any more I was refered to max Employment after university holiday started I was placed on the work for the dole which am currently doing monday to Thursday 9am to 3:45pm however I am still enrolled in university and was planning to go back so I brought my study information and hours to my job network constant and was told to go to centrelink and apply for aus study so I don’t have to do the work for the dole.
But I am worry that I won’t be able to get on aus study because I have been on it in the past and I don’t know what to do??? I really want to finish my degree to top it off I had to see a psychologist from centrelink at the start of this year to do another mental health assessment then I had to take all the information to centrelink and make another appointment to have an assessment done by centrelink however I couldn’t get an appointment straight away because their was non available centrelink said they would contact when a day and time was made. I told my job network that and they told me to go back to centrelink again and get an appointment plus apply for it’s so stressful.
I’ve never had a paid job because I have been studying and volunteering I’ve been applying for every job under the sun even sign up to the job network at university. I feel helpless and trapped on work for the dole. My university study is on my job plan but I don’t think my job network constant likes me she knows I have been studying but she doesn’t care she has cut my payments over small things even when I couldn’t make it to an appointment because I was at uni. I don’t want to be on the dole I’ve been on for so long I want to work but I can’t seem to catch a break.
I don’t know what to do i wish I could snap my fingers and get a job.
I had been in work since I was seventeen, which included about 13 and a half years in the army and 23 years working in Information Technology and had avoided long term unemployment payments. Long story short I moved into my last role that was eventually made redundant and I could not be placed in another role. I received the appropriate payout, but I paid out loans and other long term liabilities that eroded what I had. I had less than required super to seriously consider early retirement and owned no house, but Centrelink was unmovable in their decision I had money to last 18 months, but I had to start a transitioning to retirement pension four months early than I would have hoped. It is a valid option, so long I was working or seeking employment.
When my wife and I eventually were able to register for Newstart and Job Provider I suddenly realised what my kids had highlighted about the system. I was able to deal with both Centrelink and the job provider, but I the initial six week waiting period for the job provider was interesting. I asked questions about qualification of my skill set as most of it was on-the-job and a resume review to understand if my resumes are strong enough, but received inadequate answers. I am finishing a medical suspension for the last three months, due to bad arm muscle strain. I have been waiting for this to end so that I could pursue jobs again. I have found the lack responses tedious, but I have had phone calls of interest, five interviews since February 2017 and attended a training program for meatworkers, but was unsuccessful in securing related work. Life goes on.
I lost my job 4 years ago now as an unfair dismissal because of my back. I have been looking for work for 4 years now and because of discrimination the line of questioning as far as injuries compo claims etc it is not possible for me to get work unless someone gets me a job on my behalf. I have given up job hunting but I go through the motions of doing so because it’s a requirement in order for me to survive. Governments have been covering up their lack of employment opportunities for years especially with this largely casual employment base we have now.
I have even tried to get qualifications and that was a fail because governments turn education into a business privatisation and raising course costs so student numbers dwindle and classes can’t be run.
I got stuck with half a diploma in landscape design. I have a carpenters background I can no longer use because of my back and not much experience in any other areas to be able to obtain a job and I’m 40 this year meant to be in the prime of my working life.
I’m appalled to see how unfair our country has become when I’m an Australian born and I see so many foreigners take our jobs away
Schneiders, Ben (18 October 2014). “Australian unemployment union wants to represent the out of work” .
Hi,
I am 62 and was forced out of my job a few years ago as an outreach counsellor due to extreme stress and anxiety working with clients with substance use, mental health and often violence in their homes. I have not been able to work since and am on NewStart, while my husband is now on the Aged pension but still doing some parttime work to keep us afloat. A couple of years ago I commenced a PhD (fulltime), which, while unacceptable for Austudy, at the time was accepted for my mutual obligation requirements for NewStart. My disability job active provider tells me this is now no longer an acceptable activity, so I am job active. I recently had an exemption due to health issues, but I really want to finish my PhD. I have worked for most of my life, never been on unemployment benefits before, and never had assistance from Centrelink for any of my previous studies. Has the ruling changed?
I need assistance to prosecute the 45th and 46th parliaments, perhaps earlier ones like Abbott’s, Centrelink including CEC and the 55 JSPs as a Common Informer on behalf of Her Majesty per the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914, Sections 4B & 13 for criminal violations of (a) Commonwealth Constitution 1900 Section 51(xxiiiA), the International Covenant on Human Rights 1976 articles 4, 5, 6, 7 & 9 and criminalised by the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995, Sections 268.20, 268.23, 270.5 & 270.6 with heavy penalties applicable to each and every count. Examine CA 1914 S4B & 13 very closely. It will help you estimate what spoils are there to be shared. Once it is forced into Federal Court, the neofascist house of cruelty in Australia will collapse and stay that way forever, because no government will dare to impugn our social security rights ever again. Contact me!!!
meth lab chemicals residue contamination is one cause of environment pollution and the australian gov and edu and big pharma hope people are distracted from the other sources of air and environment pollution causing more direct harm to people and environment.
In metro city and suburbs small scale crystal meth labs hidden in peoples bathrooms garages bedroom closets duct the chemical fumes away from their labs and into their neighbors property and the public space.
Next time at the woolies coles rsl pokies ask whats in the air coming through the air con vents at different times of day and night, theres a regular pattern closely related to the different chemicals used to making crystal meth.
Do your own research on the chemicals used and the process and the many exposure symptoms, skin, cold flu, cancers, etc, covd19 cold flu stoke lung heart failure attacks and connect the dots yourself.
Law enforcement police and crime commissions are busy protecting local meth labs in residential and shops and offices.
If people report it, the police accuse people of mental health issues and force them into mental health facilities with the help of corrupt allied health and corrupt pyschiatrists, pschologists, nurses, social workers.
Hospitals have hidden meth labs somewhere usually in the high security sections such as mental health facilities, and security backrooms and the fumes get spread through the airconditioning, especially in the ED.
hint corrupt gov police telling meth labs in their local areas to mask with cooking oils
and using chemicals based on moth balls
CSIRO and defence have kept quiet about this for how long?
Hello I found your website as – like millions of others – I’ve newly unemployed due to CoVid. I’m not sure, however, if your organization is still active? – the information on here is very outdated, seems to be from around 2017. I hope you are still active as this seems a time more than ever when such a Union is needed!
I agree. It does seem to be a bit outdated, but still very informative. It is time things were changed. Whats going to happen when the Government pulls the rug out from under us when they no longer care about CoVid? Back to the same old rate that job seeker was, pushing us all further back into poverty and on the brink of suicide. I hope these guys on this site are still active too.
I agree with K.J Coyle (above), we need to collapse the “House of cruelty”.
Does this Union still exist? Is it active? I 100% agree with most (though outdated now) statements listed above, and would like to join if its a real fighting Union.
For any true strength it needs to ally up with the CFMEU and ETU.
Am I allowed to join AUWU even though I am employed but want to support you?