Author Archives: AUWU

What to do if you get cut off Newstart

If you are one of the many thousand of unemployed Australians who get cut off their Newstart, it is important that you ‘re-engage’ as quick as possible in order to get back on the payment and avoid losing money.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to get back on the payment after you get cut off.

  1. Call the Centrelink Participation Team

    First you need to work out your problem with Centrelink.

    It is a common mistake for people to go to their job agency to work out your problem. However, job agencies are very untrustworthy and can give you incorrect information.

    By calling the Centrelink Participations Team on 1300 306 325 you can go over the head of your agency and work out the problem with Centrelink directly.

    In fact, the Centrelink Participation Team are required to call you to sort out the issue immediately after you get suspended from payment.

  2. Call your Job Agency to Reschedule a ‘Re-engagement’ Appointment

    In order to get back on the payment, you must be attending monthly appointments with your job agency. If you have not already got an appointment booked, call up your job agency and ask for them to reschedule a ‘re-engagement’ appointment.

    Remember you have the right to reasonable notice of at least 3 calendar days before the reschedule you, although you may want to attend the appointment as soon as possible if you are required to re-engage.

  3. Make a complaint (if applicable)

    We encourage all breached unemployed workers to make a complaint if they feel they have been unfairly penalised. Please click here for more information.

    We would also greatly appreciate it if you could send your stories to us so we can publicise the abuse of unemployed workers (anonymously) on our facebook and website.

     

Press Release: Cairns branch harassed and fined by police

Unemployed workers in Cairns are being harassed and fined by the police for providing information to unemployed workers about their rights without a permit.

On the 17th of May, the Queensland police forcibly shut down an Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union (AUWU) information stall outside the Cairns Centrelink. The AUWU member operating the stall presented the Queensland police with a receipt for a permit purchased for $225 from the Cairns Regional Council on the 10th of May 2016 (see below). In response, the police informed the Cairns branch that they would arrest anybody who continued to operate the information stall.

On the 20th of May, the AUWU Cairns branch received a $589 fine from the Queensland police for operating the stall without a permit (see below). The penalty infringement notice stated that the information stall violated CODE 10011 Section 38 (2) (b) of the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999. This states that a person “must not undertake prescribed activity without permit/contrary to condition”.

The regional branch organizer and stall operator David Rainbow strongly condemned the “pure harassment” by the council and authorities
.
“We are not obstructing anything, we are not being abusive, we are not harassing anyone. This is pure harassment by the council, by the authorities, to deny one third of the population of Cairns information to their basic rights”.

In light of the recent death of 18 year-old Josh Park-Fing at his Work for the Dole site, Mr Rainbow highlighted the importance of this information to the safety and wellbeing of unemployed workers.

“We are providing basic information to unemployed people – who are one third of the population of Cairns – about their basic occupation health and safety rights working for the dole.”

Pointing to the fact that charities such as the Cancer Council and the Legacy are permitted by the council to solicit for donations on the street in Cairns, “we have the right to set up an information stall and provide basic information to people about their entitlements and their rights under the law.”

“The precedent for other community groups – such as ‘Save City Place, who had a Marquee set up in City Place for a month – has been no permit required. That’s the advice the Councillor Richie Bates first provided to us”.

President of the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union Owen Bennett said that the Union would be launching a legal action against the oppressive and illegal behaviour of the Cairns Regional Council, the Police and Centrelink.

“What we have seen is the Cairns Regional Council, The Police, Centrelink and job agencies colluding to keep unemployed workers in the dark about their basic rights under the law. Without access to their basic rights, unemployed workers are at a greater risk of being unfairly treated, bullied, injured or even death”, said Mr. Bennett

“Not only are Centrelink and the employment services industry failing to uphold their legal obligation to provide information to unemployed workers about their rights, they are preventing others from doing so. This sort of discriminatory and punitive approach to unemployed workers must end.”

Contact

Owen Bennett: contact@unemployedworkersunion.com
David Rainbow: cainrs@unemployedworkersunion.com

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Our National Advocacy Services

Unemployed Workers Rights Booklet

Our Unemployed Workers’ Rights Guide is now available online!

To download and view the guide, please click here.

Please send any questions, comments and suggestions to advocacy@unemployedworkersunion.com

Photo on 16-04-2016 at 13.08


National Advocacy Hotline

If the unemployed workers guide does not address your question or concerns, please call us on (03) 8394 5266

Hours of operation: 10am-2pm, Monday-Wednesday.

Answering machine messages will be responded to within 10 business days.
Alternatively, you can email us for advise at advocacy@unemployedworkersunion.com

The hotline is maintained by a volunteer group of AUWU members.

Why Are Max Employment Harassing Me?

Josh, AUWU member

“Been applying for for 20-40 jobs a week since I got on centrelink in May 2014 and I’ve had no luck. I was a straight A student whose parents split up in late 2012 and had to live with my mother. She began dating a psychopath who would beat me up for any reason under the sun. I realised my only options were suicide or centrelink so I applied and it took over a year before they accepted my claim. This was because I needed to get a third party to fill out an unreasonable to live at home form. They told me it couldn’t be a friend of mind and had to be someone like a teacher or family friend. Considering I aced school you might assume I got along with my teachers but it was quite the opposite. I never once had a good teacher and would literally sleep through school because it was so easy(boring).

It wasn’t until I got lucky and was brutally beaten up a day before a centrelink appointment that I was finally able to get approved by the system. They even tried to deny me when I had dried blood all over my face. I had to beg the lady and start crying before she decided to speak to one of their social workers who took one glance at me then said I’ll be accepted. Both myself and my mother were told that I should have gotten centrelink when I first applied for it a year prior but they took no accountability and refused to back-pay me a single cent.

What makes matters worse is that I originally had about $6000 in savings when I first applied for centrelink in Feb 2013 but this disappeared quickly when I moved out for 6 months. I was a student at the time and had hoped that centrelink would accept me so that I could continue my studies in a non-abusive environment. When my life savings had all been used to pay for rent, bills and food I was forced to move back to the abusive environment or become homeless. When I was finally approved 9 months later(May 2014) it was not as a student but as a job seeker. I really did want a job and decided to give it my best knowing that I could always return to university and remain on centrelink.

So this is when centrelink stopped being such a thorn in my ass and max employment took over. At first I was on level 1 and it was okay but I’d only worked casual jobs so I had a lot to learn about the job industry. They taught me nothing and the more I requested help the more of a deterrent they became. So I stopped trying to get any help from them and tried to be grateful that such an incompetent agency only wanted me to come in once a month. It wasn’t until a couple months ago when I moved suburbs that they moved me up to level 2. At this point I was shocked and appalled by the system in place and had decided to just get a casual or part-time job and return to university. Once I got my acceptance email I notified both centrelink and max employment and was told that I would be switched to student youth allowance on the day I start university. For some reason this was when max employment decided to gear things up a notch. They started dragging me in for 3h resume writing seminars and 2h of job searching per week on their slow computers. This inhibited my ability to look for work and killed most of the motivation I had left. They then decided to drag me in for physical/psychological assessments which they admit was a mistake yet still force me to attend. I’ve told them many times that I’m going back to uni in less than a month yet they keep adding more compulsory appointments for me to attend. It’s absurd that I’m being forced to jump through their hoops when it does not benefit me in any way.

In the end the one good thing that has come from these appointments is when I saw an advertisement on their job board requesting temporary staff to help pack flowers during next week(valentines day). Out of my own accord I took it to the only person in the entire office who seems to give a shit and asked for the position. Initially he told me that the employer only wanted girls for the role but I remarked about how it doesn’t seem like a gender-based role and that seemed to change his mind. I now have 30 hours of work lined up for me next week but I’d really prefer a stable part-time job.”

‘Work for the Dole is Slave Labour’

I am 51 years old, work as a casual Medical Receptionist. Was told I have to do work for the dole in a Local Charity shop. I know the manager there, she told me she is already over staffed but I was most welcome but I would be DUSTING all day..

I have over 20-30 years work history in admin, customer service, and owned a retail business for 10 years.. How is dusting going to give me the full time work I desire?

This work for the dole program is not feasible AT ALL!!!!!!!!! Does the gov understand that??? The Employment Ministers office told me I am not allowed to volunteer in an admin role for a allied health professional (with potential for further paid work) as it is SLAVE LABOUR… are they kidding…..