APM wins award for worst job agency of the year
In a crowded field, the WA giant has taken out this year's "Golden Demerit" for its commitment to tormenting the poorest segments of Australian society.
Today, at 12pm, AUWU will host a guerilla ceremony at APM Brunswick, to present the company with The "Golden Demerit" Award for the worst job agency of 2024.
Unemployed workers in Melbourne will be dressed in their finest to recognise APM's achievements throughout the year. There will be speeches, music, and recognition of all the hard work that goes into producing such misery.
AUWU Victoria Co-ordinator Jessica Harrison said: “In a three-month period, APM suspended payments of 32,220 claimants. That’s over 2,600 per week. This is outrageous. It’s stressful enough to try to make ends meet in the current economic climate, without having your lifeline cut. And the privatised job agencies receive government handouts for this.”
It's undeniable that the Western Australian behemoth — whose share price has plummeted to the point where they've had to recently delist — has excelled this year.
An ongoing AUWU investigation into payslip harassment has landed APM in hot water, with the company being put under a program assurance by the Department for "threatening" unemployed workers.
Documents obtained under FOI by AUWU reveal that the Department told APM that their staff are "currently engaging in behaviours that may be in breach of the Deed and the Workforce Australia guidelines": namely, "threatening the use of the Targeted Compliance framework if participants do not comply with the request to produce payslips".
In one instance, AUWU uncovered that APM threatened and harassed a woman, recovering from multiple spinal injuries, to sign off on a fake payslip, so they could get an outcome bonus from the government.
Another woman told The Guardian that when she found her own part-time job, APM contacted her employer without her permission for employment information, then told her to sign paperwork backdated to before she started the job, saying APM had helped her find it.
Despite persistent, and public failures and scandals, APM has lost none of its government contracts. Indeed, while the government conducted its "Inquiry" into Workforce Australia, APM donated $147,140 to the ALP.
This year, AUWU received more complaints through its national hotline about APM than any other provider. The company also scored a dismal 1.93/5 from participants on our job agency rating scale.
Come join us as we celebrate this company's excellence in the field of human misery.
When: Today, 12pm
Where: APM Brunswick (602 Sydney Rd)
Media Contact: Jessica Harrison (0438 174 029)
