The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is an organisation by the unemployed, for the unemployed.
Our mission at the AUWU is to protect the common interests of the 750,000+ Australians who are currently unemployed.
This struggle has become more important than ever considering the 3 major attacks being waged against unemployed workers:
- Lack of jobs: There are currently 18 job seekers per job vacancy in Australia – the highest ratio of job seekers to job vacancies since records began. The government needs to stop punishing the unemployed for this crisis and create secure jobs now!
- Low rate of Newstart: Right now, Newstart is around $392 per fortnight below the poverty line – one of the lowest unemployment benefits in the developed world.
- Punitive system of fines and activities: Today, privately owned Employment Service Providers have unprecedented range of powers over unemployed workers and can suspend, cancel or reduce their Newstart entitlement for the smallest infringements. This effectively gives them the power of life and death over the unemployed. The Government should help the unemployed into secure employment, not punish them.
By organising and sharing our experiences and common grievances, as unemployed Australians we can fight back against the endless attacks being launched against us. Only by fighting together can we force the Australian government to create a fair and humane welfare system for all.
To protect our welfare state from the government’s ongoing assault, however, it is clear that we will need the help of the wider Australian public. It is for this reason that the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union welcomes all those dependent on Centrelink, as well as all those who have jobs, to join our struggle for a fair and humane welfare state.
In fact, establishing a broad community of people who are committed to fighting against the governments brutal treatment of Australia’s most vulnerable – from Trade Unions to other political organisations – is an essential step if we are to achieve our objectives.
Its completely free to join up, so sign up today and join the struggle for a fair Australia!
By joining the AUWU you will get:
- Free access to our National Advocacy hotline [0383945266]
- The opportunity to meet other AUWU members in your local area
- Access to our leaflets, which we can send out to you in the mail
- Access to our growing list of contacts and friendly organisations to help in our struggle
- An organised platform to fight for the rights and dignity of the unemployed!
Click on the link on the top of the page to sign up!
We at Under the Hammer Activists Arts Hub wish to offer a free meeting space for AUU activists in Melbourne. We’ve a projector and screen, a bar and bookshop, can seat 30-40 people. We’re on Sydney Road, Coburg, near Moreland train station. Please come make use of this space in any way that furthers AUU’s objectives.
Good Afternoon.
My name is Barry James & i am volunteering my services as a Legal assistant.
I have had good experience as an Acting Organiser with the United Services Union & i am prepared to assist the unemployed get a fairer go from Centreleink, Employers & other Government agencies.
I believe i have the expertise to assist in legal cases by having the experience of preparing legal documents for appeals & i have the ability to research awards & government legislation when there is the possibility of legal action & i am also a registered Justice of the Peace & a member of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties.
If you think that i can be of assistance then please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
Barry
M)0405382377
bajames60@bigpond.com
I am one of the lucky ones who started work last week [20 hours] after almost 3 years off [ 2yrs injured 1yr looking ] and know how hard it is to keep going , I recently went into the local Job agency where I saw a sign saying that they were going to find 1000 jobs in 100 days. Great Marketing but when you look into it it isn’t as flattering as one would expect, Firstly there are approx 50 of these agencies which employ approx 15- 20 per agency in my maths that means 50x 20 = 1000 , so each employee of these companies averages finding jobs for 1 person per 100 days , I could go into costs etc and you might get a more accurate picture , Oh and by the way I found the job by constantly applying for jobs from the internet and I found my job myself. no employment company needed. Stay strong friends you will find that job.
Questions. What is the union going to do for people such as myself who are in the 60 plus age group? What is the union going to do for pensioners?
Hurry up and get things done.T he federal government goes on holiday soon
I was on DSP for chronic lumbar pain and applied for portability so I could be with my wife overseas while she completed her nursing degree. She only had one year left to do and would have then been contributing to the Australian economy. Well, I was denied portability along with losing the DSP altogether as I didn’t qualify with enough points as I did when I got DSP in the first place. I had MRI’s and appointments with brain and spine surgeons to explain my condition. Although my condition was explained to centrelink via surgeons, GP’s and chiropractors it wasn’t enough to qualify for DSP. You only had to have watched A current affair the other night to know that the DSP is unattainable. Anyway, They cut me off my pension and left me in limbo with no alternative payable arrangement, Nothing. It dawned on me that I had to go and apply for some financial assistance as nothing doesn’t get you far. Centrelink put me on to newstart. Two weeks into newstart I went online to view my profile and saw that I had been cut off newstart as well. So I’m back in centrelink and they told me I hadn’t attended an appointment so my payments were seized. I was never told of any appointment and had never heard of the agency. No letter, No appointment reminder…. nothing. I feel this is by design. I then had to attend a job agency and fill out paperwork with (compulsory) requirements of applying for 20 jobs a month and work if a position came along that they appointed me….. I had to agree or I wouldn’t get paid, knowing full well I couldn’t work. I told the person that I am on pain medication and that my lowest disc slips out of adjustment without notice and would render me unreliable for any work commitment. She just showed me where to sign or I wouldn’t get paid. The whole process of applying for portability to now being on the unemployment scrap heap took an agonising 8 months with doctors reports and appointments with centrelink. I am incredible angry and feel humiliated beyond explanation. I now have to survive on $240 a week and attend appointments with these agencies that are an hour round trip by car whenever they see fit to see me. I’m back on my anxiety medication and feel helpless and depressed. I feel ashamed and guilty for some reason, Maybe that’s where they want me. I wish I hadn’t injured my back at work 7 years ago and I could work and live a normal life, But instead I am a nothing and considered unworthy of DSP, A welfare cheat, A nobody to the Australian government.
you sound very similar to my situation. I injured my back and was awarded a workcover payout of a permanant partial disability but they dont care anymore. My advice to you is that you dont have to attend your appointments if you have a medical certificate(which im doing) so long as you notify them. my doctor just gives me monthly certificates although annoying with their new rules not much we can do other than ruin their statistics till they go back to the way things were
What is the AUWU position on 457 Visas .
Do you plan a contest the next election at least for a senate seat so that we can influence government