The government has walked back on yesterday’s comments indicating it would expand the JobKeeper payment, dealing a blow to around 1.1 million casual workers who were set to pocket an extra $400 per fortnight from the proposal.
Just yesterday, Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter told reporters the final draft of the legislation would be as “as inclusive and reasonable as possible”, acknowledging the 1.1 million workers who don’t qualify because their work requires them to move from employer to employer.
This morning, he walked those comments back.
“You have to have some kind of guiding limits on the outer edges, even of a scheme that represents expenditure of this extraordinary amount,” he told ABC Radio National on Monday morning.
“We will require regular and systemic attachment to an employer for 12 months.”
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said the government’s definition of having the same job for one year excludes many casual workers who bounce between employers due to the nature of their work.
“There’s lots of casual workers who may have work that’s on and off but it’s regular – so arts and entertainment, construction industry and those places – or you might have started work this year, and come back into the workforce and working irregular hours,” she said on the ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
“Those people need to be covered too.”
The payment offers workers $1,500 per fortnight to remain employed, representing a $400 increase over the JobSeeker payment (formerly known as Newstart) those workers would otherwise receive through Centrelink.
If you’ve lost your job, you’re now eligible to make a JobSeeker claim with fewer requirement than before. This payment will also include a $550 coronavirus supplement.
Students are also eligible for similar payments, and the government is in the process of relaxing means testing, especially for couples. But for many people, the system is too overloaded to even make a claim.
Bypassing Centrelink altogether, JobKeeper payments will instead be paid by the government to businesses which have seen a sharp downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic. This money is then supposed to be passed on to employees.
