Australian Unemployed Workers Union - Outer Western Melbourne

28/09/2016

Union says work-for-the-dole jobseekers are increasingly reporting that welfare payments have been unfairly suspended

27/09/2016

New data shows around a quarter of dole recipients are skipping job interviews or rejecting work, resulting in nearly 300,000 people having their government payment suspended.

27/09/2016

As the Coalition begins to tackle welfare reform, the Turnbull government also reportedly plans to fight to force Newstart recipients to wait four weeks to receive the dole.

26/09/2016

Illawarra-based aged care provider Warrigal has been slammed by a union over its plans to recruit 50 overseas workers on 457 visas.

24/09/2016

It may come as a surprise to many new mothers, as they gaze into the eyes of their new small love and recover from the gross physical assault of birth, to learn that they are actually bludgers.

23/09/2016

News Corp really hates the unemployed. And they want you to hate them too. According to News Corp's hateful articles, if you can't find work its your own fault. Unemployed workers are therefore ' lazy' , 'dole bludgers' , 'job snobs' , 'shirkers' , 'leaners' , 'taxed nots' , 'NEETs' , 'rorters'...

19/09/2016

Just a reminder.

Hi Everyone,

Looking forward to meeting those who can make it to the Skype Meeting on Wednesday.

We have heard that there are some problems adding the contact@unemployedworkersunion address on skype.

Please use unemployedworkersunionhq@gmail.com to add us on skype. That should work.

So we can get an idea of numbers, could those of you who are able to attend on Wednesday at 4:30 please confirm?

Many thanks.

Owen Bennett
President (Melbourne Branch)
Australian Unemployed Workers Union (AUWU)
(03) 83945266

16/09/2016

Have you been unfairly fined by your job agent? Join our legal challenge! The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is preparing our legal challenge against the Centrelink compliance system. The AUWU has received legal advice from a barrister which states we have a strong case and asks us to collect…

15/09/2016

The Nightmare That Is DES Disability Employment Services Provider C/- Site Manager Subject: Disability Employment Services Assistance – 11 Years Just following up on my request of 5th September, 2016 and wondered if you had yet followed up with the Department of Employment / Department of Soci...

05/09/2016

This is SHOCKING

Contributed from Victoria The horrific death toll is revealed by Figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions. Around 100 people per month have...

03/09/2016

"Don’t be so quick to judge someone who isn’t working. There may be many good reasons. It certainly doesn’t mean they don’t want to."

01/09/2016

Many Newstart recipients are on brink of homelessness, Council of Homeless Persons warns, and loss of $4.40 payment leaves less than $24/day to live on

01/09/2016

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's Kon Karapanagiotidis said that what a politician can claim for a one night stay in Canberra is equivalent to an entire week on Newstart. Is that true?

27/08/2016

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET CUT OFF NEWSTART

If you are one of the many thousand of unemployed Australians who get cut off their Newstart, it is important that you ‘re-engage’ as quick as possible in order to get back on the payment and avoid losing money.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to get back on the payment after you get cut off.

Call the Centrelink Participation Team

First you need to work out your problem with Centrelink.

It is a common mistake for people to go to their job agency to work out your problem. However, job agencies are very untrustworthy and can give you incorrect information.

By calling the Centrelink Participations Team on 1300 306 325 you can go over the head of your agency and work out the problem with Centrelink directly.

In fact, the Centrelink Participation Team are required to call you to sort out the issue immediately after you get suspended from payment.
Call your Job Agency to Reschedule a ‘Re-engagement’ Appointment

In order to get back on the payment, you must be attending monthly appointments with your job agency. If you have not already got an appointment booked, call up your job agency and ask for them to reschedule a ‘re-engagement’ appointment.

Remember you have the right to reasonable notice of at least 3 calendar days before the reschedule you, although you may want to attend the appointment as soon as possible if you are required to re-engage.
Make a complaint (if applicable)

We encourage all breached unemployed workers to make a complaint if they feel they have been unfairly penalised. Please click here for more information.

We would also greatly appreciate it if you could send your stories to us so we can publicise the abuse of unemployed workers (anonymously) on our facebook and website

25/08/2016

Unemployed people in Australia are finding it increasingly difficult to hold their job agencies accountable for mistreatment, stand-over tactics and poor performance, writes Owen Bennett. When Paul Scerri’s contract ceased at his workplace in early 2015, he was without gainful employment for the fir...

21/08/2016

For those of you that are curious about insurance when doing activities.

Group Personal Accident – Policy Limits & Sums Insured
Insurer: QBE Insurance
Policy Number: AN A021590 PAD
Period of Insurance: From: 30th June 2015 at 4.00pm AEST
To: 30th June 2016 at 4.00pm AEST
Insured Persons: Jobseekers undertaking a placement in Department of Employment Approved Activities in jobactive, including any associated training, and direct travel to and from such Activity.
Policy Coverage:
Capital Benefits Sums Insured
Item 1 Death $250,000
Item 2 Permanent Total Disablement $250,000
Items 3 to 15 Disablement $250,000
Items 16 to 32 Limits as per Policy Wording
Additional Capital Benefits Sums Insured Broken Bones $2,000 Lifestyle Modifications $10,000 Disappearance $250,000 Spouse & Dependant Children $5,000 Accidental HIV Infection $25,000 Out of Pocket Expenses $200 per week up to 52 Weeks Domestic Home Help $200 per week up to 52 Weeks Non-Medicare Medical Expenses $20,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability
(a)
All claims, except those referred to in (b) below $10,000,000
(b)
All claims relating directly to air travel in chartered or non-scheduled aircraft. $2,000,000 Age Limits: 17 years to 75 years Excess: Nil

Anyone wanting more information you can download the booklet from the AUWU website.

20/08/2016

The Turnbull government's plan to strip low-income welfare recipients of the clean energy supplement, will exacerbate growing inequality, sending their incomes 32 per cent below the poverty line, according to new research by the left-leaning Australia Institute. The study, shows the 2016 budget deci...

06/08/2016

This just came in from one of our members. Very interesting.