Thread by @antipovertycent

Congratulations to the Work for the Dole forced labour program, which celebrates its 25th anniversary today 🎉

Restoring planes? Sounds like a job! #AWFTD

25 years on, and here's a selection of the unpaid labour you can be forced to do, courtesy of the @MatchWorksAU Work for the Dole "opportunities" page 🥰 #AWFTD

@MatchWorksAU Let's not forget the origins of welfare-to-work... thank you to heroes of the working class Hawke & Howard for gifting millennials forced labour, along with so many other policies that benefit us to this day—from housing to workers' rights. #AWFTD

Source: aph.gov.au/About_Parliame…

While the dole bludger myth politicians used to justify cruel "mutual" obligations are still with us, some things HAVE changed since Work for the Dole started.

In 1997, the @salvos pointed out the harms of WftD.

Today they're the largest exploiters of forced labour 🏆 #AWFTD

@salvos Meanwhile, as the introduction of Work for the Dole was being debated, JEFF KENNETT suggested it might be a good idea to pay people AWARD WAGES for their work.
#AWFTD

A reminder: @salvos, as of January 2022, was exploiting Work for the Dole participants at 288 locations around the country.

On top of this, there are countless people in their 50s and 60s forced to "volunteer" at Salvos to fulfil "mutual" obligations. #AWFTD

Them in 1997:

@salvos Here's what two people who completed the #AWFTD survey had to say about their Work for the Dole experience with @salvos. Both placements were in 2022.

You can do the survey here: awftd.org

@salvos So, how did this radical shift to forced labour work out? The first evaluation in the 90s heard this from people who did Work for the Dole trial.

We're sure the government went on to address all these issues before it decided to rollout the program further 👀

#AWFTD

@salvos In 2007, the @ANAO_Australia audit of Work for the Dole noted occupational health safety was a key risk of the program.

This probably turned out fine. #AWFTD

Of course, we're still waiting to see whether anyone will ever be held accountable for the death of Josh Park-Fing, killed doing Work for the Dole a decade after the ANAO report & 2 years after Ernst & Young found 64% of sites didn't meet basic OH&S standards. #AWFTD

In the same year Josh was killed, Mick Smart suffered a life-altering injury doing Work for the Dole.

Centrelink later stole $13,000 of the compensation he received for an injury that destroyed his prospects of finding a sustainable job. #AWFTD

Article: theguardian.com/australia-news…

All this for a program proven to make little to no difference to the prospects of getting a job.

#AWFTD survey respondents told us even Work for the Dole supervisors say not to put the program on their resume because of the stigma attached.

Source: aph.gov.au/About_Parliame…

As one would expect, @AlboMP condemned this 🗑️🔥 of a program ... in 2003.

He highlighted that "7.8% of jobseekers became so disillusioned by their experiences... they simply gave up looking for a job and left the labour market. #AWFTD

Source: anthonyalbanese.com.au/work-for-the-d…

@AlboMP On the anniversary of Josh's death, @JeremyPoxon implored the so-called party of workers to abolish forced labour.

But @AustralianLabor & @AlboMP remained silent on the subject of Work for the Dole throughout the election. Their silence continues. #AWFTD
awftd.org/article/we-nee…

To conclude this commemoration 25th anniversary of Work for the Dole, we will leave you with a series of contributions from people who have completed the #AWFTD survey.

You can complete the survey or find WftD sites to boycott in your area here: awftd.org

"I literally worked alongside a prisoner workforce" #AWFTD

"I had a breakdown" #AWFTD

"I still feel horrible just thinking about being forced into working at that place." #AWFTD

"We'd often have to sort bags covered in urine or fecal matter with no gloves or masks. They were a racist and homophobic team." #AWFTD

"I got sick due to unsanitary environment and ended up hospitalised" #AWFTD

There are no more excuses @AlboMP @Tony_Burke @AmandaRishworth @JulianHillMP @BroadbentMP.

It's been 25 years too long.

Time to abolish Work for the Dole. #AWFTD

@AltTextUtil ocr