Arbeitslosenselbsthilfe O l d e n b u r g
Kaiserstr. 19
D-26122 Oldenburg (Oldenburg)
Absender : 7vdw@QLINK.QUEENSU.CA (Veronica) Org.-Empf. : LABOR-L@YORKU.CA Weiterleiter owner-labor-l@YORKU.CA Betreff : Workfare in Kingston (fwd) Datum : Di 16.06.98, 12:07 (erhalten: 17.06.98) Groesse : 2936 Bytes ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Late last week, Kingston social activists learned that the local HRDC office was going to hire and train workfare recipients starting on June 15, 1998. Word quickly spread through the activist community and numerous calls were made to the HRDC office as well as local MP, Peter Milliken. A protest was arranged and bout 30 people from various unions and local community groups showed up at 7:30 AM to protest and express their concerns with the forced labour program.
The local HRDC Director confronted protesters and claimed that the workfare placements had been cancelled due to pressure from the community. It appears that we have obtained a brief victory. Nevertheless, comments made by the HRDC director clearly illustrated that the federal government is set to cooperate with provincial agencies around the issue of workfare. Using workfare recipients to replace and/or not hire new workers for bargaining unit jobs under the guise of on-the-job skills training
This is not surprising because the 1996 federal unemployment insurance legislation changes clearly have the intent of a workfare type of program. Under Part II of the act,a major part of the federal government's strategy is to work closely with municpalities and provincal governments and harmonize employment initiatives. The Job Creation partnership program is similar to the Ontario Works program. Recipients of unemployment insurance benefits wotking on provincial and community projects are not paid wages in accordance with Employment Standards. UI recipients working under the ausipices of these agencies simply continue to receive UI benefits.
Wage subsidies and earnings supplements are also part of the strategy. Wage subsidies are paid to designated employers who will in turn pay the employee. This means in effect, that employers do not have to provide well paid jobs since they will be topped up by the government. Potentially, employers can abuse this system by not creating new jobs and/or getting rid of current employees to replace them with wage subsidy palcements. Earnings supplements are similar in so far as they top up low wages. They are paid directly from the government to the worker. The government aim is to encourage EI recipients to accept low paying jobs.
Both the EI legislation and workfare will result in the erosion of the already disapearing "good paying job" and will allow employers to receive government monies to hire workers. Two categories of hirees are being created with these polcies: those that walk in off the street and will cost employers the full shot, and; those registered with EI or Ontario Works that will cost them next to nothing. Who would you hire? Moreover, neither policy addresses they issue of job creation. It is simply another form of state capital.
Veronica Wylie
Index of Welfare-Workfare-State Archives
Last Modified: July 1998