ian wrote on Dec 22
nd, 2014 at 10:31pm:
Raven wrote on Dec 16
th, 2014 at 2:03pm:
[
Every Aboriginal person I know who is receiving the dole is required to abide by the same conditions as the rest of Australia. That includes looking for work and attending job interviews.
rubbish. They are not required and very few do. There are separate conditions for aboriginal people.
Yes, the new ones which are being introduced are much harsher.
Quote:Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory will be working for around $5 cash an hour under changes to a remote work-for-the-dole scheme, bringing back memories of the old ‘work for rations’ days.
[
Source]
They are required to do "work for the dole" for 52 weeks a year - this is more than an employed person is normally required under award conditions.
Quote:It will put tougher requirements on welfare recipients in remote areas, who are already working for the dole, and where the scrapping of CDEP has had disastrous consequences.
In the Northern Territory, the situation is even more dire because of compulsory income management, one of the most controversial planks of the NT intervention.
CDEP was abolished under the NT intervention in 2007, but the Rudd government brought back a severely watered down version of the scheme, before it was transitioned into the RJCP.
Previously, CDEP employed about 7000 Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, who were paid real wages for their employment, which was provided through a block grant to community-controlled Aboriginal organisations. It included superannuation and protection under industrial mechanisms like the Fair Work Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
In many communities it was the only source of employment and before 2007 was the largest employer of Aboriginal people in the Territory.
The scrapping of CDEP in the Northern Territory increased unemployment rates “dramatically”, Indigenous policy expert Jon Altman has written.
Under the current RJCP, Aboriginal workers in NT communities were already working 16 hours a week for Newstart wages. The new changes will toughen requirements, forcing welfare recipients in remote areas to work 25 hours, five days a week over 52 weeks in order to receive their welfare payments.
In contrast, recipients in regional areas and cities will only be required to work under these conditions for six months, under wider reforms to welfare across Australia.
[
Source]