The government intends to remove the pandemic supplement at the end of March as Jobseekers struggle to meet their basic needs, reports Kerry Smith
Centrelink
The recession, we're told, is over. But, as Graham Matthews details, Australia’s unemployed and underemployed are about to face more pain as the COVID-19 subsidies are withdrawn.
Contracted by Centrelink, Serco has sacked hundreds of call centre operators in Melbourne, reports Jim McIlroy.
Newcastle unionists and anti-poverty activists protested federal cuts to JobSeeker at a snap action outside Centrelink, reports Steve O'Brien.
Single mother of three Juanita McLaren lodged a complaint in the United Nations in March against the Australian government over its discrimination against single mothers.
McLaren is being supported by the National Council of Single Mothers and their Children which wants the parenting payments’ scheme and the newly-introduced ParentsNext program to be held up to greater scrutiny.
The disaster caused by the federal government’s policy of privatising Centrelink call centres work has been underlined by the results of a survey of Department of Human Services (DHS) staff.
The Newstart Allowance received by Australia’s jobless (if they are lucky enough to get it) stands at $273 a week. The last time it was raised, relative to the Consumer Price Index, was in 1994. Last year, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research calculated the poverty line for a single adult was at around $510 a week (including housing costs). That corresponds to a present figure of about $521. This means Newstart is now $248 a week below that miserably low poverty line.
Ever tried to book a flight online, made a mistake and then found that either there was no one available to help you fix it or that it was just going to cost you more anyway? I have, while experiencing the fury that everyone feels at the helplessness and injustice of it all.
I would consider myself to be relatively computer and internet literate. However this era of new technology and electronic media excludes vast numbers of people and disadvantages them terribly.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says that contracting another 1000 private call centre operators to answer calls to Centrelink will not fix the problems caused by the federal government’s damaging cuts to the agency.
Minister for Human Services Michael Keenan announced on April 23 the introduction of another 1000 low-paid and insecure jobs, on top of the 250 positions currently generating a profit for multinational company Serco.
Centrelink, the federal government's main social welfare agency, is planning to hire 1000 private labour-hire staff to carry out "debt recovery" operations and assist in enforcing compliance by welfare recipients.
This latest large-scale outsourcing exercise comes just a month after the Coalition government announced that controversial multinational corporation Serco would use 250 employees to staff a Centrelink call centre, supposedly to help reduce long waiting times.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has condemned the federal Coalition government for allowing multinational company Serco to operate a Centrelink call centre, saying the move will put thousands of vulnerable people at risk.
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge has announced Serco subsidiary Serco Citizen Services will begin operating a Centrelink call centre in Melbourne within weeks, with 250 full-time equivalent staff.
The federal government has proposed a drug testing trial for new welfare recipients.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described the proposed policy as being “all about love”, saying: “If you’ve got a friend who is on drugs, what do you want to do? You desperately want to get them off it.”
This needs to be examined.
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