#i should point out they switched me to jobseeker during the last three months of my degree so i was constantly fielding their nonsense

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

have i mentioned how much i hate the ridiculous way they trap you into taking up shitty jobs, through employment agencies?

like, they will call you or email you at any time with a position no matter how bad it is... and you have to accept it, because if you refuse to at least apply, you lose any governmental assistance for up to 10-12 weeks in penalty for non-compliance.

i mean, the three day life-stealing courses on ‘how to talk to people’ and ‘how to identify fire is bad (work safety)’ are embarrassingly degrading enough that they’re mandatory, but the system they’ve made has literally put people in dangerous positions

for example, an agency kept sending people out to do ‘a trial week’ with a certain restaurant that was basically using these people for free labour, one per week for ages. No one got the position (or feedback) in like 6 months, and this was considered the fault of the people sent out there... rather than blatant exploitation? 

in another case, someone was sent out to the middle of nowhere for a ‘receptionist position’. it was a brothel. they didn’t want a receptionist. no one bothered to google it before pressuring a young lady into going out there. nor did they go with her (which they are required to do under the circumstances). she returned well enough, but that was an easily avoidable scenario, had anyone cared to do their damn job properly.

and the other thing they do isn’t terrible in theory, but execution is very dangerous. they line people up to go out and work for either the council, or charities, free labour and experience right? well, sure, but a lot of people were getting hurt pretty severely because the people in charge of them in the charities were volunteers with no workplace health and safety training. especially at charity A, where my sibling actually ended up with such a severe injury to their shoulder (from being forced to move something with only two people that clearly needed about five or mechanical aid whilst being ‘supervised by a fucking idiot considered competent by sheer fact of being at the charity for like three weeks- a common tale) that it took nearly a year to heal. during which time they were penalised for non-compliance... 

and of course, non-compliance means you have to reapply for: assistance (financial), health care cards, any additional things like Tax A & B (for peeps with kids). also they may slap you with a debt during this time, bc some rich idiot went, ‘hmmm, who will have money if we take it away entirely as a penalty? aha! the poor! yes, give them a debt.’ #fucking genius mate #good job

it’s a domino situation that will never effect the idiots who dreamed it up bc they’re wealthy enough to avoid it all. guaranteed if the minister for unemployment or the PM had to sit in centrelink for six hours to hand in a small book of a form, and then be told ‘no, you missed a page’ or ‘why have you not included parental earnings in this? ...maybe bc we’re both adults susannabeth chadworthingtonne the third. 

then again, sometimes you get penalised for no reason, system error, which kickstarts the whole process over again as you scream unto eternity. but the thing is if these people mess me over, then i do have someone i can ask for assistance, a lot of people do not. and they’re the ones who are in the most trouble if they’re found non-compliant. 

i mean, it’s not a good system.

there needs to be more leeway here. you should be able to say, ‘i see you’ve been pressing (X) position on everyone here regardless of skillset, and removing their assistance if they say no. i am not suited to that position, nor was the last person you approached, have you considered doing your job properly?’

for example, if you are a social worker in a hospital, and a patient needs support with say living at home, and another needs assistance with mobility. you find things to work with them, not tell them they have to use company H, which might be solely about cleaning once per week, or they can just die alone. you feel me?

the whole ‘we have this one position, let us force everyone here to apply or we remove their assistance’ thing is a bit frustrating. because one size fits all, or god help you, has never been that productive of a system. there are people trying to find employment that have twice the degrees, others who barely know english, heavily pregnant ladies have turned up, people who are barely literate... and even a few people who were significantly impaired. and i do not say this in a rude way but, the difficulty they had understanding their ‘obligations’ makes it very clear that if they were forced into a position, either they would not hold it long or they could be taken advantage of and not realise it. 

it’s simply a bad system because it doesn’t cater to the different demographics. and, the people employed to run them are either lovely but ineffective, or the rudest people on earth. 

it seems universal, too. speaking with some people using different agencies, you hear their similar stories of that one employee, usually female, who loses her mind at everyone. >can’t speak english? she’ll scream at you in an angry tone until you ‘get it’. >try to point out you can’t attend something bc you have no transport into town bc taxis are hella expensive (a significant concern in rural areas)? god help you >ask why you have been assigned a ‘how to talk to people’ course in the middle of your placement? get yelled at for ‘thinking you’re better than others’

and, this is bitterness about this one lady but hear me out. the rules in our region are apply for, or follow up with, twenty jobs per month. This was based on an average calculated by jobs available in a huge mini-city not that far away; bearing in mind there are not always twenty positions available, you do have to get creative. (I hear, in the capital city, sometimes they can push the number to 50 jobs/month but there are more opportunities to apply there.) they will accept an almost complete sheet in certain months when there is a predicted employment shortfall. >however, this one woman was a living nightmare. if you filled the sheet, she’d hand you a new one and tell you ‘complete this by the deadline, or i will have your assistance removed’. and she would, btw. once four 67 jobs in a month, mid-final placement, just to ensure i had continuing cash to pay for rent + living whilst completing my degree bc the centrelink computers fucked up and put me on jobseeker in the last three months. she was awful. apparently randomly left and never came back one day, and i would not be surprised if she’s in a ditch somewhere, with that attitude, so good riddance.

the other issue is that they have this anonymous nonsense that i think needs to be lifted. ‘apply for this position in hospitality’ their emails say, 

sure, if you have a client that basically says, ‘fuck you, why should i  have to search for jobs? i’m not doing that!’ then that’s a good enough reason to have a discussion with them about mandatory conditions pertaining to their receiving assistance. and if they remain non-compliant, or get abusive, then you defs need to respond to that correctly.

but it just feels like a lot of the system was put in place without really thinking through how it will affect people. and it needs to be redone with greater emphasis on dealing with individual strengths and needs, allowing for them to provide more compatible opportunities (esp. in rural areas where jobs are scarce af, and it’s not hard to match people) rather than throwing everyone at it to meet quotas, and being surprised when the employers reject all but like one, bc no one else is qualified. as if it is the fault of the people forced into it, that they were not selected, and are then labelled as ‘not trying hard enough’.