"The study provides strong support for our view that 'Work for the Dole' is a "cruel hoax" that fails to truly help jobseekers." ACOSS President Andrew McCallum.THE Un-Australian: " MORE than a third of the people who completed the Howard Government's work-for-the-dole programs last year were in jobs or studying within three months of finishing.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations post-program monitoring shows 36.4per cent of participants were getting "positive" outcomes, even though the work-for-the-dole scheme is not an employment program.
Almost 300,000 unemployed people have taken part in the controversial program since its establishment by the Howard Government in 1997, new figures show."
GKCNN: But this is what StandUp has said about work for the dole:
Work for the dole? $10.00?
StandUp! Wishes to draw your attention to a serious attack on all of us--work for the dole. We were assured that unemployed would not be forced to work in areas where employed workers would normally be employed. This has shown to be a lie! Under work for the dole, unemployed have been forced to carry out; concreting, tiling, landscaping, repairs, renovation, painting, gardening, nurses and teachers aid work.
The pay for this is ten dollars on top of normal dole payments. The extra pay, in many cases, hardly covers the fares to and from work. Under work for the dole you may be forced to travel ninety minutes from your home. This is indeed legal slavery.
We know of examples where the safety has been inadequate and the unemployed person has been injured. There is no workers compensation for work for the dole. There are few rights and these are difficult to enforce.
THE Un-Australian: "A spokesman for Employment Services Minister Mal Brough said that while work for the dole was "unapologetically" a "mutual obligation" program, it had achieved "remarkably good job outcomes" by comparison with international labour market programs.
"In providing work experience and a sense of contribution, job-seekers also benefit individually. Although it is not an employment program, it gets very good job results" - far better, he said, than the closest equivalent program under the previous Labor government.
The Labor policy, he said, had achieved only 21.1 per cent positive outcomes, at greater cost to the taxpayer."
'WORK FOR THE DOLE' REDUCES JOB PROSPECTS
A major independent study commissioned by the Government and released today under Freedom of Information by The Australian newspaper indicates that the 'Work for the Dole' program actually reduces the job prospects of unemployed people.
ACOSS President Andrew McCallum said: "This new study by Professor Jeff Borland is the most thorough piece of research yet conducted into the Government's flagship "Mutual Obligation" program for unemployed Australians."
"The study provides strong support for our view that 'Work for the Dole' is a "cruel hoax" that fails to truly help jobseekers."
The Un-Australian: " But work-for-the-dole program providers told The Australian that while the Government had not officially changed the objective of the program from one of mutual obligation to one of trying to achieve job outcomes, the change was taking place unofficially.
"We are being told to get programs now that will hopefully lead to jobs," one work-for-the-dole co-ordinator said.
Mr Brough also released Job Network performance figures showing that in 2003-04, the Job Network and Job Placement providers had exceeded the records set in the 2002-03 financial year. In 2003-04, 518,300 unemployed people got jobs from the Job Network, an increase of 16 per cent from the year before.
Labor's plan is for a $700 million Youth Guarantee that would target 10,000 school-leavers by 2009 and offer employers financial incentives of up to $10,200 over two years to employ and train early school-leavers.
Under Labor's policy, all 15 to 18-year-olds would be forced to work or study, TAFE fees would be abolished for secondary students and 1000 full-time mentors would encourage teenagers to stay in school or take training."
GKCNN: So hopefully with Labor's policy you won't be "forced" like they say in the Un-Australian Newspaper. But indeed "targeted".
One wonders how "target" and "forced" can be in two different paragraphs and whether one is correct and one is wrong but it remains a little ambiguous, if you ask me!
But to keep the bastards honest put your left foot forward "Without Fear" this Federal Election and Vote 1 the Greens. Hey Bro!
By The Slave 9 July 04
Bonus prompts baby talk, principal says
A western Sydney school principal says the Federal Government's $3,000 baby bonus is encouraging his students to fall pregnant.
Government ignoring housing crisis: ACOSS
There are 100,000 homeless people nationwide and one third of those are children. The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) says low-income families are facing a crisis in affordable housing that the Federal Government is choosing to ignore.
Youth welfare system unfair: ACOSS
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is warning urgent action is needed to fix youth poverty and disincentives for the unemployed to improve their job prospects.
Australia: Private job network agency blues
Can you trust a private job network agency? No you can't! A friend of ours is registered at MTC Marrickville. This agency has a practice of forcing unemployed to fill out preparing for work agreements. Of course they didn't offer him any work! So why was he cut off the dole?
Work for the dole? $10.00?
StandUp! Wishes to draw your attention to a serious attack on all of us--work for the dole. We were assured that unemployed would not be forced to work in areas where employed workers would normally be employed.
INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT: ISJA
If we want to survive we must work at it Indigenous unemployment reaching crisis: welfare group Action to lower Indigenous unemployment rate Govt underspends on indigenous employment: dept Economic development: The outback malaise Call for end to Indigenous welfare cycle.
Howard's Job Network Bailout
Up to 670,000 people on disability support pensions will be encouraged to sign up to the Job Network under a radical new plan to get disabled people off social services and into work.
The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 Qld
The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 (Qld), requires that any person who has committed an offence which is less than 10 years old or which resulted in a prison sentence of more than 30 months, must disclose that offence if requested eg. for employment purposes. If a criminal record is disclosed in a job application, it is unlikely that person will be given the job.
Shoplifting and homelessness
Shoplifting increased by 7.5 per cent last year, making it the only major crime category to register a significant increase in 2002, crime statistics show. "It's a chain reaction kind of thing. No payments, more crime. More crime, more cops. More cops, more harassment. It goes back to the bloody payments, basically," he said.
Democrats approve tougher welfare penalties: But how does that pan out? There used to be an old saying in Australia" if you're hungry steal a sheep and leave the pelt on the fence. How do you plead, Peter Saunders?
Social services groups swamped
A new report has revealed higher costs and increasing demands are forcing [social services] groups to turn more people away.
Fears for poor if Social Services take a social slide?
The director of the NSW Council for Social Service, Alan Kirkland, said it was very difficult to balance the impact of problem gambling against the broader community benefits.
Social Services small change? Or wast the money on WAR!
Lone parents on [social services] average 12 years of benefits - and are often worse off if they work. But reforming the system is risky and often costly, Bettina Arndt explains.
EX-PRISONER UNEMPLOYMENT: SENTENCED FOR LIFE
Name removed by request served time in prison decades ago. Shes still being punished today. According to commonwealth and state legislation, ex-prisoners applying for jobs must declare any conviction that fits into the following categories: less than 10 years old, more than 10 years old but served more than 30 months in prison.
Unemployed farm postings would cost jobs: AWU
The Australian Workers Union has rejected a proposal to place work-for-the-dole participants on drought-affected rural properties.
Tough luck! Kicks the poor to death
Australia is urged to adopt a United States-style welfare system, [?] cut welfare spending [social services spending] and encourage people to help themselves in a book on poverty published today.
Economy benefiting from non-profit institutions
Non-profit institutions are contributing $30 billion a year to Australia's economy. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found about a third of that comes from volunteers who worked free for more than 550 million hours in 1999/2000.
NSW prisons - primary industry bailed up!
In many quiet regional centres around NSW there is a new primary industry shaping up. It has something to do with Bail but not with bales. The minister for Agriculture Richard Amery who also has the prisons portfolio is now committed to farming prisoners.
Robin Egan
Two thirds of fines are never collected because they go beyond the means of the defendants and because in lots of cases people do not see that they are responsible. Especially where people know their in the right and no fine ought to have been a penalty.
