Beneficiary advocate Kay Brereton has hit out a the Government over its framing of planned changes to benefits.
Beneficiaries will now have to meet with the Ministry of Social Development within two weeks of starting their benefit to determine their plan to get into work. If they don’t, they could face a sanction.
Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston announced the move yesterday.
Brereton, from the Beneficiary and Unwaged Workers Trust, told Breakfast this morning: “I’ve thought about it overnight and I’ve realised what people are reacting to and it’s the language, it’s the way this is put; ‘We will make people do this or we will sanction them’.
“There’s a whole other way to do this. People don’t really object to going along to a seminar a couple of weeks after they’ve started a benefit — and in fact, it could be a really good thing.”
And benefits “are really hard to survive on”, she added.
If the Government framed the seminars more positively — emphasising the goal of giving beneficiaries the tools they need to survive and to get into work — there would be no need to mention sanctions, Brereton said.
“People would come along because they’re inviting them and they’re making it something that’s worthwhile.”
A lot of people on the Jobseeker benefit have health conditions, she added.
“Our concern is really about whether the appropriate people are being sent to these seminars, whether they’re right for them — because you can be work tested while you’re in cancer treatment, you can be work tested while you’re overcoming heart disease.
“They’re going to be punished if they don’t make it to this seminar.
“Are the seminars gonna be eight o’clock on a cold morning like this? I live two hours from my nearest Work and Income office.”
Upston said yesterday: “Those who do not attend without a good and sufficient reason could be sanctioned.”
She said the new Kōrero Mahi – Let’s Talk Work seminars “will make sure all new Jobseeker beneficiaries get the support they need and understand what’s expected of them”.
But Brereton wanted more details.
“Is this seminar going to be offered online, by phone, in other ways, or do people have to physically present at the office?
“Lots of job interviews are by Zoom or by phone, so let’s make sure people have got those skills.
“It’s a very diverse cohort, people on benefits, and so it needs to be the right pitch for the right people rather than some kind of one size fits all,” she added. “It could be fantastic.
“I’m hopeful, I’m not really optimistic.”