National returns to the future with failed work for dole plans
“The only good thing about National’s support for work for the dole, is that it has finally made clear one element of their welfare strategy should they become Government,†Green Party Social and Economic Justice Spokesperson Sue Bradford says.
“Up until now it has been very hard to see any clear difference between National and Labour when it comes to welfare. Both support a ‘Work First’ ethos, which is about paid work being the most desirable goal for beneficiaries, including sole parents, the sick and the injured.
“However, I am saddened by National’s renewed commitment, through its welfare spokesperson Judith Collins, to a workfare scheme modelled on the one in Australia. National seems to have learned nothing from its last term in Government. Ministry of Social Development studies on the work for dole programmes in the 1990s have shown they actually increased the length of time people were on the dole, as people had less time or motivation to look for real work.
“The Green Party strongly opposes any form of compulsory work for the dole. Programmes like this undermine the wages and conditions of employed workers; and people on forced labour are not usually able to join a trade union.
“It devalues the work of genuine volunteers by introducing a new category of ‘forced volunteer.’ Many community organisations have in the past been reluctant to participate in such schemes because of the negative impacts.
“Compulsory work for dole is expensive to run, as Ms Collins herself acknowledges. I challenge National to instead consider putting the same money into creating real fulltime jobs doing useful work for at least the minimum wage. I would also ask them to consider the impacts of requiring people to bear the extra costs of working while surviving on a pittance,†Ms Bradford says.
“In my experience, people who work for the dole feel less valued than others in the employed or volunteer workforce. It is far better to employ people on proper wages to do the work, or to involve people in genuine education and training programmes.
“I call on National not to get carried away by importing an Australian work for dole scheme to disguise its own lack of distinctive
“Up until now it has been very hard to see any clear difference between National and Labour when it comes to welfare. Both support a ‘Work First’ ethos, which is about paid work being the most desirable goal for beneficiaries, including sole parents, the sick and the injured.
“However, I am saddened by National’s renewed commitment, through its welfare spokesperson Judith Collins, to a workfare scheme modelled on the one in Australia. National seems to have learned nothing from its last term in Government. Ministry of Social Development studies on the work for dole programmes in the 1990s have shown they actually increased the length of time people were on the dole, as people had less time or motivation to look for real work.
“The Green Party strongly opposes any form of compulsory work for the dole. Programmes like this undermine the wages and conditions of employed workers; and people on forced labour are not usually able to join a trade union.
“It devalues the work of genuine volunteers by introducing a new category of ‘forced volunteer.’ Many community organisations have in the past been reluctant to participate in such schemes because of the negative impacts.
“Compulsory work for dole is expensive to run, as Ms Collins herself acknowledges. I challenge National to instead consider putting the same money into creating real fulltime jobs doing useful work for at least the minimum wage. I would also ask them to consider the impacts of requiring people to bear the extra costs of working while surviving on a pittance,†Ms Bradford says.
“In my experience, people who work for the dole feel less valued than others in the employed or volunteer workforce. It is far better to employ people on proper wages to do the work, or to involve people in genuine education and training programmes.
“I call on National not to get carried away by importing an Australian work for dole scheme to disguise its own lack of distinctive