Has there ever been a worse time to be unemployed?

AFTER the new jobactive system is introduced at the start of next month, it will be the worst time in Australia’s postwar history to be unemployed.

Under the three-year, $5.1 billion jobactive system, not only will privately-owned employment service providers be given the unprecedented power to effectively fine job seekers for missing their job search appointments but also the punitive and discredited Work for the Dole scheme will be significantly expanded across the country.

Given the reputation of employment service providers for abusing the system to maximise their income, why is the Abbott Government giving them more powers to punish unemployed Australians?

Doesn’t the government realise that there is a chronic job shortage in Australia that needs urgent attention?
One-way ticket to poverty
Going by the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures released for May 2015, there are 745,200 people in Australia who are unemployed. This figure represents an increase of more than 300,000 since 2008.

Considering that the current unemployment benefit is $280 per fortnight below the poverty line — the lowest unemployment benefit in the OECD — unemployment is increasingly becoming a one-way ticket to poverty for many Australians.

And it’s not just those who are out of work who are suffering.

According to the latest ABS figures, there are 1.06 million people in Australia who are underemployed. Since 2008, the national underemployment rate has skyrocketed from 5.9% to 8.5% representing an increase of over 400,000 underemployed people.

Overall, this means that 1.8 million Australians (14.5% of working population) are actively looking for work — the highest rate of job seekers in Australia for 17 years.

Alarmingly, these figures do not come close to detailing the full extent of Australia’s jobs crisis.

It is only when the dwindling amount of job vacancies are considered that the harsh reality of unemployment in Australia can be clearly observed.

According to the latest figures released by the Department of Employment, currently there are only 158,000 job vacancies in Australia — down from 307,629 in 2008.

Altogether this grim picture means that there are 11 job seekers competing for each one of these job vacancies, the highest job seeker to job vacancies ratio since records began.

Harsh new regime

From 1 July, the job search requirements for people on Newstart will become even harsher. The changes include:

• Job seekers aged under 30 will be forced onto Work for the Dole after six months — previously it was 12 months.
• For under 30s, Work for the Dole will be expanded from 15 hours a week to 25 hours a week for six months a year (it will remain 15 hours for other age groups).
• Failure to attend a fortnightly job search appointment without a ‘reasonable excuse’ will now incur a fine of a minimimum of 10% of the Newstart payment, about $50, rapidly increasing if the appointment is not rescheduled.

At this point it is worth asking what steps the Abbott Government has taken to fix this growing problem.

Rather than creating jobs, they have done the opposite and have been systematically slashing jobs in the public service.

Since being elected the Abbott Government has overseen an increase of 200,000 unemployed and underemployed Australians.

Even the Abbott Government’s election promise to create 2 million jobs over the next decade is actually below the rate of expected employment growth.

Rather than investing money to create secure work for the 1.8 million Australian job seekers, the Abbott • Government has instead invested billions to keep job seekers ‘engaged’ in the job market through a largely punitive system of fines, appointments, unpaid work activities, and irrelevant training run by for-profit employment service providers.

One of the biggest beneficiaries will be a controversial US company, MAX Solutions Pty Ltd, which has won a quarter of the new jobactive contracts.

The $5.1 billion jobactive system will significantly expand this harsh approach to the unemployed.

The Abbott Government’s ongoing failure to fix Australia’s jobs crisis does not only affect those looking for work — it affects those with jobs as well.

Simply put, the more job seekers there are competing for jobs, the more the bosses can play workers off against each other resulting in lower wages and worse conditions across the board.

It comes as no surprise then that real wage growth is currently at a 17-year low in Australia.

Jobactive’s harsh approach to the unemployed will only increase this competition amongst job seekers, resulting in even lower real wage growth.
A new voice for unemployed Australians
To fix this crisis, the Australian Unemployment Union has been established as an organisation by the unemployed, for the unemployed.

Our mission at the AUU is to protect the common interests of the 750,000-plus Australians who are currently unemployed.

By organising and sharing our experiences and common grievances, as unemployed Australians we can fight back against the endless attacks being launched against us. Only by fighting together can we force the Australian government to create a fair and humane welfare system for all.

But we cannot do it alone.

The AUU is reaching out to workers and the wider community to join in the common struggle for a fair Australia for all.

We strongly encourage all workers — whether employed or unemployed — to realise their common interests and join the Australian Unemployment Union’s campaign demanding the government create jobs for the unemployed, not more punishment.

It is imperative that the artificial barriers dividing unemployed and employed workers are broken down and our shared interests acknowledged. The National Union of Workers has already shown its support from day one by lending office space and other resources to the AUU.

To mark the introduction of the punitive jobactive program on 1 July, the Australian Unemployment Union will be holding protests outside of MAX Employment offices in Melbourne and Adelaide. Join us and fight for a fairer society for all.

Fight the fine

Join the protests against punitive fines for unemployed Australians.