Australian government intent on scrapping JobKeeper and slashing JobSeeker despite mass unemployment
The Australian government is about to throw more than 1.5 million workers into potential unemployment by terminating its JobKeeper COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme. Simultaneously, on March 31, it will end the “Coronavirus Supplement” on JobSeeker dole payments, throwing another 1.6 million unemployed workers into dire poverty.
Yesterday, the Liberal-National Coalition government announced a supposed $25 a week rise in the underlying JobSeeker rate. In reality, it is another cut in the benefits, which were temporarily “supplemented” last March to avoid a social explosion triggered by Great Depression levels of joblessness.
A mass unemployment queue outside a Sydney Centrelink office last March (Credit: WSWS)
The JobKeeper program ends soon Here s what could replace it abc.net.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc.net.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Business leaders and welfare advocates have blasted the Morrison government’s decision to establish a hotline for employers to dob in unemployed Australians who refuse job offers, calling the measure out of touch with small business owners who believe “most unemployed people are not dole bludgers”. Unions have been even more critical of what they see as the “dangerous” hotline, warning it could force women into accepting jobs from employers who.
Employers lukewarm on DobSeeker hotline brisbanetimes.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from brisbanetimes.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.