AUWU Canberra demands Morrison reintroduce COVID supplement
The government’s policies are making us unsafe. They must provide meaningful COVID response measures.
Unemployed workers are calling on the Morrison government to provide payments and other measures to ensure everyone can make the decision to stay home, and keep the whole community safe.
The government’s COVID response is a disaster. The nation’s capital is in its harshest and longest lockdown. And with surging case numbers in NSW, we have little hope that life in Canberra will return to normal any time soon. Canberrans living in poverty are some of the most exposed.
Unemployed, underemployed and casualised workers are some of society’s most vulnerable people, and the current government response does not come anywhere close to protecting us from the massive harms of this pandemic.
Last year the government responded to the scale of the health and economic crisis by taking decisive action to support the most vulnerable. And it worked.
To protect our members and many others, AUWU Canberra demands that the Australian government immediately:
Raise all welfare payments to at least the Henderson Poverty Line (currently $82 per day) with no means testing, waiting periods or other barriers and regardless of visa status. The only way we’ll keep people safe and get through this crisis is if we #PayPeopleToStayHome. Full wage subsidies must also be paid directly to workers who have lost employment during the lockdowns.
Suspend mutual obligations nationwide until at least the end of 2021. Mutual obligations are cruel and pointless at the best of times. In a pandemic, mutual obligations pose a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of our members (and the broader community). People on income support need certainty and confidence to exercise their rights, and we don’t need added strain or job agency harassment at this extremely difficult time.
Enforce safe working conditions in all workplaces, including fully paid pandemic leave to all who claim it. No worker should be forced to choose between paying their bills and risking exposure to COVID-19. The current criteria, which require official directions from Health authorities in order to make a claim, mean that many people with symptoms will not isolate in time.
Media contact: 0407509444 / media at auwu.org.au
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