Darron CharlesworthWork for the Dole is Counterproductive in its Current Form
April 21st 2010 11:30
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Tony Abbott’s latest brainwave to eliminate social security benefits to un-employed persons under the age of 30 is not particularly brilliant. Australian society as a whole would never be party to such a demoralising American concept. Although a little over generous at times we do have a very workable social security system in Australia. Granted there are those who abuse the system, however the same can be said for the Fat Cat Bankers and other corrupt government officials who have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar over the years. So throwing mud at those who, in many cases, have been short-changed by the system is a low attempt at political point scoring. This is not to say that there are not significant flaws in the current system. The work-for-the-dole scheme is one of those failures.
The implementation of Work for the Dole in Australia has followed the same basic structure as the United States and the United Kingdom. In its simplest form those who are placed in the scheme are forced to participate in selected work or they will have their benefits suspended. This kind of punitive approach has been widely studied in the UK and the US. Unsurprisingly it has been shown that there is little success with this kind of policy. The results have been mostly negative with increased hostility to those managing the scheme. In most cases the decisions are arbitrarily made by Case Workers with very little consistency shown in the application of penalties and suspensions. There is little evidence to show that this compulsory type of program has large scale success in re-integrating participants into the workforce.
This is not to say that all Work for the Dole schemes fail or create negative outcomes. In studies of schemes in Europe and Scandinavia there has been a great deal of success. The main difference though is in the application and the methodology. In these schemes there was a focus on training, education, assistance with re-integration and there were voluntary schemes. Because the offer was made to people to encourage participation without penalty for refusal the participants were involve because they wanted to be not because they had to be. This proved to be a successful factor judging by the result of the studies conducted. It appears that people are more willing and more successful when they are involved by choice rather than by coercion. The possible counter argument is that the schemes in Europe and Scandinavia were more successful and produce better outcomes purely because the participants wanted to be involved and re-enter the workforce.
There is a lot of support for the concept of mutual obligation. Forced participation with punitive penalties has not been demonstrated as a successful way to achieve such an outcome. By looking at other models Australia may be able to vastly improve the current scheme and help more people out of the social security cycle and into self-sufficiency.
This is not to say that all Work for the Dole schemes fail or create negative outcomes. In studies of schemes in Europe and Scandinavia there has been a great deal of success. The main difference though is in the application and the methodology. In these schemes there was a focus on training, education, assistance with re-integration and there were voluntary schemes. Because the offer was made to people to encourage participation without penalty for refusal the participants were involve because they wanted to be not because they had to be. This proved to be a successful factor judging by the result of the studies conducted. It appears that people are more willing and more successful when they are involved by choice rather than by coercion. The possible counter argument is that the schemes in Europe and Scandinavia were more successful and produce better outcomes purely because the participants wanted to be involved and re-enter the workforce.
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