On Tuesday, the Morrison Government announced a new hotline for employers to dob in jobseekers who have turned down work. Welfare groups were obviously outraged.
When work’s turned down in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Jobdobbers! However, the Australian Retailers Association warns that this hotline, dubbed “Jobdobber,” may provide bad vibes for jobseekers trying to get back on their feet.
Paul Zahra, the Australian Retailers Association chief executive, told The Guardian that the hotline, “may lead to bogus claims and add to the stress some people face in their search for employment – which could ultimately undermine their confidence and their employment prospects.”
I know when that Jobdobber hotline bling, that can only mean one thing. It means the government are coming down on those who are already having a hard time. “The mutual obligation requirements for jobseekers need to be fair and measured and assist those on the job hunt to remain confident and in good mental health,” continued Mr Zahra.
Employment minister Michaelia Cash told 2GB on Wednesday that employers will, “speak to the jobseeker, they will make sure that everything was OK with them. But ultimately, we believe, as a government, if you are able to accept a job, you should do that.”
Sufficed to say, people aren’t happy about it.
Good morning to all who also know #JobDobber isn’t to benefit smaller employers, many of whom are decent people. Nope, it’s for billionaires & other fucking LNP-adjacent pricks, so they can destroy wage growth & keep profits soaring by forcing everyone to despise the unemployed.
— MFW (@MFWitches) February 24, 2021
JobSeeker, JobKeeper, JobMaker, extended here, excluded there, add JobDobber. What a lot of wasted time and resources! Here’s an idea – let’s just have no-one living in poverty. Let’s have a #UniversalBasicIncome.
— Abigail Boyd (@AbigailBoydMLC) February 24, 2021
A spokesperson for the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, Kristin O’Connell, warned that the hotline would allow employers and recruitment agencies to force jobseekers into “unsafe and underpaid jobs.”
One Twitter user had this to say:
everything else about the jobdobber hotline aside: can anyone imagine a single non fucked reason why an employer would still want an employee who absolutely does not want to work for them
— Chudney Crompton (@puppy_eggs) February 23, 2021
Would you accept a high-school formal invitation from someone you definitely did not like? Probs not.
Jenny Lambert, acting chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is on the fence about the decision. “We think gaining information from the market is very important to improve how the system is managed but we don’t believe the way to help people into jobs is to increase the punitive elements of the program,” she said. “The focus should be on supporting people into work.”
Time will tell how Jobdobber will impact the 1.95 million Australians receiving Jobseeker and related payments.
