Thread by @antipovertycent

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Today we publish our #PunishmentForProfit report, with support from @GetUp.

93% of people say "mutual" obligations harm their mental or physical health. We expected a strong response to these questions, but these figures surprised even us.

READ HERE: https://t.co/631wLvs0yApunishmentforprofit.org

@GetUp Some highlights.

85% said a job agency had made a mistake or done something that caused a problem with their payment.

97% said ‘mutual’ obligations are not useful. #PunishmentForProfit

In total, 591 people contributed to the 2 surveys this report is based on.

56% reported having a disability & 18% identified as trans.

These cohorts are over-represented, which reflects the significant employment barriers & discrimination experienced by people in these groups.

The employment services system costs $4 billion a year.

In the first 7 months after Workforce Australia launched, job agencies reported fewer than 1700 "6 month outcomes" of people being in education or employment.

“The public is out of pocket $4 billion a year while (un)employment providers make millions in profits rorting the system. It’s an open secret that it fails us. It’s time for Labor to back up its words with action." – Jay Coonan, report co-author from the Antipoverty Centre

“We are committed to repeating ourselves with newer and more damning data for as long as it takes,” – @jezheywood, @AusUnemployment President

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment “A superior approach would be abolishing mutual obligations and enabling job search support for all people seeking employment.” – @terese_smfa, Single Mother Families Australia CEO

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa “The findings of this report clearly demonstrate the devastating harm caused when vital social programs like employment services are outsourced to private companies.” – Chido Dunn, @GetUp Campaign Director

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa @GetUp Tomorrow the @AustralianLabor national conference will open with "An economy that works for everyone" as the first item on their agenda.

But millions of people left behind in the current economic climate are excluded or ignored in the conversation about our future.

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa @GetUp @AustralianLabor We call for an end to the political influence of organisations that donate millions in return for billions in contracts.

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa @GetUp @AustralianLabor We call for an end to forced labour programs like Work for the Dole and subminimum wage jobs that exploit people in poverty for the profit of so-called charities.

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa @GetUp @AustralianLabor Our report features contributions from dozens of people in employment services who contributed to this research. Dozens of stories are on our website with more to come in the next few weeks: https://t.co/uB1ADrEP5Kpunishmentforprofit.org/tag/survey/

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa @GetUp @AustralianLabor We are incredibly grateful to every person who has shared their experiences with us, both formally and informally.

There will be more to come from our contributors, including a series of papers authored by people who attended our employment services workshops.

@jezheywood @AusUnemployment @terese_smfa @GetUp @AustralianLabor Our work is not done until the safety net is safe and liveable.

This research continues. If you have had to do "mutual" obligations to get a Centrelink payment, we encourage you to contribute.

Help us break the poverty machine #BTPM ✊

DO THE SURVEY: https://t.co/F6WQkjHX76apcentre.formstack.com/forms/coercive…

@LorikeetMusk @GetUp Should be readable now, but presumably fixing that will cause some other problem 😂