The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union supports unwaged workers to find employment on their own terms. We have never encouraged people to turn down work that is safe and fits their circumstances.
Our strike is successfully highlighting the injustices experienced by those on Centrelink payments: the fact that we’re at risk of homelessness, starvation and health breakdown because of a publicly funded, privately operated system that punishes us.
By day two more than 5,000 people had accessed our rights guide and we’d heard hundreds of stories about trauma experienced at the hands of job agencies.
The employment minister responded to this pressure by trying to bully the poor people’s union into submission, lying to the public and our members about #MOstrike.
We will continue to stand up to people who try to intimidate us. We are striking to:
PROTECT people’s health and safety
OPPOSE harassment, bullying and threats against people on Centrelink payments
EMPOWER people who have been hurt by their experience of job agency abuse
ABOLISH punishing requirements that have no benefit
ENABLE people to find meaningful employment on their own terms
We do not think this is ‘bizarre’ and we request Senator Cash explain which of these she believes is unreasonable.
Media contact: 0413 261 362 / media at auwu.org.au
What the strike is *actually* about
Who we are targetting
Our strike primarily targets the failed job service provider model. We oppose the cruelty of the system and the power job agencies wield over the unemployed and vulnerable. We oppose the lack of funding transparency, inadequate regulation and operation of this industry.
Why it’s urgent
We are demanding a full ‘mutual’ obligations suspension until at least 31 December because the worst possible time to be forcing people to engage with a permanently broken system is during a pandemic and severe economic crisis. It must ultimately be abolished.
The problem
Job plans do not cater for a person’s situation and there is an economic incentive for providers to force people into a job – regardless of the long-term security, safety, conditions and appropriateness of the selected employment.
The best pathway to employment is for us to have agency, not for private operators to have public funds.
During the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, those on social security do not need harassment and punishment endorsed by a government that believes a “snap-back” is inevitable, even as their own numbers say otherwise and COVID brings Victoria to its knees.
Failure to address the problem
Throughout this crisis the government has given opaque information about unemployed workers’ rights. The AUWU made sustained attempts – through private channels – since the crisis began to have clear information released to the public.
The government failed to deliver and the result was job agencies yet again exploiting vulnerable people. They do so because they are incentivised to punish and not provide. The evidence suggests this is intentional.
Playing politics and ignoring duties
Senator Cash has shown that she believes it is acceptable to play politics in the media with the union while we receive reports that providers are threatening job seekers with payment cuts, including in Victoria, even though they have no power to do this. These tactics are designed to coerce welfare recipients into undertaking activities they are not required to do so they job agency can collect a pay cheque.
It appears Senator Cash is not mature enough to handle a portfolio that affects the lives of 1.6 million Australians.
Information for people on Centrelink payments
In addition to the guidance below, we prepared detailed information for people in the jobactive, DES and ParentsNext programs, which you can find here: https://auwu.substack.com/p/how-to-participate-in-the-auwu-mostrike
The government’s advice states that:
If the provider determines a job is suitable, they will consider the reasons the job seeker has declined employment, taking a range of matters into consideration, such as caring responsibilities, medical conditions, cultural/religious reasons or other personal circumstances.
The provider then passes the case on to Services Australia who will consider whether the person has a reasonable excuse to deny the work offered to them.
We are not encouraging people to turn down employment offered by job service providers, but to not engage by:
not signing a job plan
not attending meetings
not signing up to any classes and
not informing their job service provider of their job search efforts.
The government has stated that this will not incur a penalty or payment suspension.
Access to AUWU support
Contact us on 1800 AUWU 4U (1800 289 848) if you need support responding to intimidation or misinformation from your job agency. You should also contact us if you receive a job offer that is not appropriate and does not fit your circumstances.
Read our information about your rights and how to participate in the strike here: https://auwu.substack.com/p/how-to-participate-in-the-auwu-mostrike
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