An Inquiry into the multi-billion dollar employment services system has been running since August last year. Curiously, not a single media outlet in the country is currently covering it.
But i am! Here's a master-thread of the Inquiry's greatest hits
aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_…
1) Most significantly so far, the Inquiry fast-tracked the abolition of ParentsNext. And again, huge props to @ellaNbuckland & @CSMCVIC
Ella asked the committee: if the government believes ParentsNext is so good, how did Albanese become Prime Minister without it? A great moment
2) Another significant development is that four major job agencies have now told the government that they want Work for the Dole abolished
3) The chair of this Inquiry, is Labor's Julian Hill: a current member of the CPSU.
In this inquiry, the CPSU has told Labor to re-nationalise employment services and suspend all mutual obligations immediately theguardian.com/australia-news…
4) Throughout the Inquiry, Julian Hill has been conducting a half-baked investigation into dole bludgers
Like Bigfoot, & the Loch Ness Monster, some ppl desperately want to believe bludgers exist; but, sadly, any evidence remains fuzzy & hard to come by
5) The Department told the Inquiry that 5-10% of people on JobSeeker aren’t serious about finding work
They base these numbers on “anecdotal estimates'' derived from seven visits to job agency sites they made back in 2016-17. Hardly compelling evidence
6) Through new Departmental data, we've learnt that, in 6 months, Workforce Australia employment services inflicted over 539 000 payment suspensions on welfare recipients: 99,938 suspensions for homeless ppl, 136, 301 for Indigenous ppl https://t.co/4zuKbiVEgQaph.gov.au/api/qon/downlo…
7) The scale of punishment is so profound that job agencies are telling the Inquiry they're struggling to keep up with the demand. NESA, their peak body, told the Inquiry that 30-40% of job agents’ time is now spent managing job seeker compliance
8) The huge focus on punishment doesn’t leave a lot of time to actually find jobs for ppl
A job agency told the Inquiry they had to get rid of their last industry engagement officer, because they’re forced to spend so much time policing welfare recipients
9) The Workforce Australia system is costing us over $1.4b a year to run.
It may surprise you to learn that, currently, job providers in the system can't access clients' resumes
10) The Salvation Army, a large employment service provider, told the Inquiry it now employs 29 people full-time to chase down pay slips (so they can get outcome bonuses).
An insane waste of resources, that places enormous stress on welfare recipients
11) The Committee has asked job agency bosses if the mutual obligation system is too harsh & intense
The agencies keep saying that if mutual obligations get suspended, people won't use their service.
Has the penny dropped for the government yet?
12) One large provider, CVGT, told the Inquiry that punishments on job seekers should be intensified.
They want new powers to cut people off the dole for 2 months if they quit a job.
I asked them what the fuck they were thinking
13) Hundreds of people forced into employment services have made submissions to the Inquiry. They're so, so heartbreaking
One man, recovering from a broken back, says he was pushed into a Work for the Dole activity that exposed him to asbestos
14) A mum told the inquiry her payment was suspended, because she needed to spend a night in hospital with her seriously ill daughter
15) An Indigenous mother, experiencing domestic violence, was forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to a job agency appointment, because she feared they would punish her for non-attendance
16) Conditions for job agency staff are also dreadful. An Indigenous worker reported that her workplace was "incredibly racist". She was also told by the CEO to put ppl in Work for the Dole, rather than jobs, because it was more profitable for the company
17: The ASU said 60+% of agency staff feel insufficiently supported
"Many workers suggested there is a need for mental health & domestic violence training"
There's no minimum qualifications for job agents, even though they have power over ppl's payments
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