Work Hunters Kept Out Of Cash

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday March 25, 1995

By MARK RILEY in Canberra

Thousands of unemployed people are being blocked from using new cash advances of up to $1,000 to help them find work because of maverick industrial action by workers in some Department of Social Security (DSS) offices.

The workers, including some in Sydney offices, have refused to process applications for the advances because they believe they are too understaffed to deal with the extra work.

Tens of thousands of unemployed people applied for the advances after the official introduction of the scheme this week, in a reaction that has far exceeded the expectations of the Federal Government and the department.

The scheme is part of the Government's Working Nation jobs strategy and allows people on unemployment benefits to take cash advances to pay for such things as tools, clothes and car repairs that may help them find work.

The office now expects 130,000 unemployed people to qualify for the loans, but believes that tens of thousands of others who are not eligible will also apply.

An assistant secretary of the Public Sector Union, Ms Wendy Caird, said yesterday that the industrial campaigns by 19 DSS offices had not been sanctioned by the union's executive, but that she had asked for urgent meetings with ministers and the department over the staffing issue.

"There have been floods of inquiries and the department hasn't trained staff or allocated staff to do the work," she said. "It has just been bunged on, basically, without any proper consultation with us about what the real workload is likely to be."

Ms Caird said the union supported the introduction of the advances as a way of helping unemployed people find work, but believed resources were inadequate in the department to administer the scheme properly.

The union had predicted that about 90 per cent of all job seekers - more than 700,000 people - would apply for the loans.

Each would have to undergo a half-hour interview with a DSS worker, which would produce mountains of data to be processed.

Ms Caird said she believed the staffing problems could be solved through negotiation and she would try to convince the maverick offices to drop their industrial campaigns.

The union has sent letters to the Minister for Social Security, Mr Baldwin, the Minister for Employment, Mr Crean, and the secretaries of their departments, calling for meetings early next week over the issue.

A spokesman for Mr Baldwin rejected the union's claim yesterday that no trained staff had been allocated to deal with the administration of the new scheme.

About 200 extra staff had been taken on with funding from the last Budget and specifically trained to interview applicants for the cash advances, he said.

They had been trained in advising successful applications on how to calculate what amount of advance they needed and how best to tailor their repayments.

The spokesman described the industrial action as "unfortunate" and agreed with the union that the matter could best be resolved through negotiation.

Under the scheme, unemployed people must have been receiving the Job Search or Newstart allowances for at least three months to qualify for an advance of up to $500 and for at least six months to apply for an amount between $500 and $1,000.

The money is to be paid back by a reduction in the person's unemployment benefits of no more than 14 per cent a week. Recipients will be expected to continue to pay the money back if they get jobs in the meantime.

© 1995 Sydney Morning Herald

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