Australian Unemployed Workers Union

The Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union is an independent and unfunded national volunteer organisation run by the unemployed, for the unemployed.

The AUWU is dedicated to protecting the rights and dignity of unemployed workers and pensioners through our national advocacy hotline and campaigning work

For more information and to join, see our website here.

New Campaign Campaigns

  • Stop the welfare bill!
    It is undeniable that the ‘mutual’ obligations system needs a major overhaul at the very least, but this bill is not the way to do it. It introduces hundreds of pages of amendments without any substantive positive change, and the government hasn’t given anyone enough time to fully think through the consequences of these changes. Ever since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, the government has suspended mutual obligations during periods of lockdown. This is an admission that mutual obligations make things harder for the unemployed and underemployed, so it makes zero sense that at the same time they're trying to make it even tougher through this bill. In addition, research shows that if you do mutual obligations it is harder to get a job. There is hard evidence to back up this claim, so these changes appear to be nothing more than purely ideological. This is a dramatic overhaul of a law that is crucial to protecting vulnerable people and the department can’t even explain the potential implications of some of these changes. The PJCHR raised many concerns about this and the need for more information. There are numerous worrying changes proposed in this bill, including; Removal of backdating payments, potentially leaving recipients up to $457 worse off A new points based system that gives points for things like attending a job interview, which is not in a recipient’s control. Automated decision making. This won't just apply for mutual obligation penalties, it will be delaying people's payment starting at all. What happens if there's a problem with the online system? Time and time again we have seen that we can’t trust this government to implement digital solutions. Together we can expose this latest attack on unemployed people and make sure Morrison feels enough political pain to reconsider the welfare bill. But we need all of our voices. Sign our petition!
    24,800 of 25,000 Signatures
    Created by Jeremy Heywood - AUWU