Greens call for immediate end to stand down periods

Ending stand down periods for Kiwi workers made redundant would mark a great start for new Minister Paula Bennett, says the Green Party.

“This morning’s Quarterly Employment Survey figures show total paid hours have dropped for the first time in 10 years, while the number of people on the unemployment benefit is rising.

"The Government must act urgently to ensure those affected don’t suffer irreparable damage when they lose their jobs,” Green Party Social Development Spokesperson Sue Bradford says.

“I call on Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett to bring her personal knowledge of the benefit system to the Cabinet table now.

“It is urgent she uses her understanding of how the system works to persuade her colleagues – and Ministry officials – to remove the whole concept of benefit stand downs from our welfare system.

Total paid hours decreased by 1.4 percent in the year to December 2008 – the first annual decrease in paid hours since the year to September 1999 – mainly because of job losses in manufacturing, construction and wholesale trade sectors, Ms Bradford says.

“There is no reason at all why someone who loses their job should be stood down for two weeks without any income – or longer – depending on redundancy payouts.

“The Green Party hopes National will take a more humane and sensible approach than either their Labour or National predecessors to our welfare system at a time of rising unemployment.

Removing pre-benefit stand downs would be a great first step, Ms Bradford says.

Additional measures Ms Bennett and the National Government should consider with urgency include:

* Restoring the discretion lost to the benefit system when the Special Benefit was abolished by the previous Labour Government.

* Starting to lift benefit levels to amounts people can actually live on.

* Removing the discrimination inherent in Working for Families which means that the children of beneficiaries are automatically made worse off than children of people fortunate enough to still be in work.

“I sincerely hope that Ms Bennett might break new ground as a Cabinet Minister who will refuse to continue the long tradition of penalising unemployed workers for a situation which is no fault of their own.”