Jobseeker beneficiaries will now have to attend a work seminar within a fortnight of their benefit, the Government has announced.
It's part of the Coalition Government's plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support by 2030.
The Ministry of Social Development's (MSD) new Kōrero Mahi – Let's Talk Work seminars aim to help beneficiaries determine their next steps towards finding a job.
"People who come onto Jobseeker Support must now attend one within a fortnight to have their employment needs assessed and their next step decided," Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said.
"If they're ready to work, they could be helped to apply for a job. If they need re-training or upskilling, they could be referred to a programme that can help."
Those who do not attend the compulsory work seminars without a good and sufficient reason could be sanctioned.
Upston said about 188,000 people in New Zealand currently receive Jobseeker Support but only about 53,000 of them have employment case managers at any given time.
"We're not prepared to sit back and let welfare dependency get any worse, which is why we're intervening early to get job seekers on the pathway to work," she said.
'Cruel to people who are already struggling' - Opposition
The Green Party called for an end to benefit sanctions and an overhaul of employment support that focuses on supporting people into work matching their skills and aspirations.
Work seminar obligations have been tried, tested and failed, the Greens said.
"Poverty is a political choice and this Government is not only choosing to maintain it but also make life even harder for those doing it tough," party social development and employment spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March said.
"Minister Upston and her colleagues in cruelty are doubling down on wanting to punish people in poverty with obligations that have no evidence of supporting people into good employment."
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said the sanctions are "another way to be cruel to people who are already struggling".
Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni said there had been staffing issues at MSD. If the minister is going to up the number of interactions between staff and clients, then they would expect frontline staff numbers should increase, she said.
That seems "completely out of sorts with what their general approach to the public sector is", Sepuloni said.
National's beneficiary crackdown
The work seminar obligation is in line with the Government's goal to crack down on beneficiaries.
Earlier this year, Upston ordered MSD to use the full force of sanctions to ensure those on the jobseeker benefit were actively looking for work.
From June, the ministry will begin work check-ins for jobseekers who have been on the benefit for six months, particularly young people. The job seekers will be required to attend the check-ins, and failure to attend will result in a breach of obligations and a sanction could be applied.
National said the number of people who have been on Jobseeker Support continuously for more than a year grew by about 40,000 under the previous Labour Government and for beneficiaries under 25, they are now projected to spend an average of 19 more years on a benefit.
National campaigned on a 'traffic light system' policy, where the consequences of beneficiaries not fulfilling their obligations to try and find employment would be made clear. Upston said in February this system would take time to develop.
The 'green' light is for those who are compliant with their obligations to find or prepare to find work. They receive their benefit as normal and are not subject to any further requirements or sanctions.
Those under the 'orange light' are at "some risk", according to the National policy document. These are clients who have received one or two warnings that they aren't fulfilling their obligations. As a result, they may be made to have more frequent check-ins with WINZ or have to do mandatory training.
The 'red' light is for those at "high risk", meaning they have had three or more warnings. Several sanctions can be applied to these people, including either cutting or suspending their benefit, subjecting them to money management or making them do community work.
The Opposition accused the Government of "beneficiary bashing" and argued that the sanctions will be problematic for getting people into work, instead of encouraging as is hoped.
Other changes National wants to make include a one-month standdown for any beneficiary persistently evading an arrest warrant, and requiring clients to reapply for the Jobseeker Benefit every six months instead of every year.
