The Government will introduce a mandatory work seminar for beneficiaries seeking employment

New recipients seeking employment will now have to attend a job seminar within two weeks of starting welfare under new requirements revealed by the coalition.

Those who did not attend without a “good and sufficient reason” could face penalties such as having their benefits reduced.

The Minister of Social Development, Louise Upston, announced the mandatory Kōrero Mahi – Let’s talk about work sessions at a Porirua jobs expo on Thursday morning.

It comes on top of a promised increase in benefit penalties (starting in June) as part of a broader “reset” of the welfare system.

Upston said the Ministry of Social Development had been trialling the seminars since February, providing clear instructions to beneficiaries about their obligations and the support available to meet them.

“What that seminar does is clearly explain to people what MSD will offer and what the obligations are,” he said.

“It’s practical, sensible and helps people with what they need to get a job.”

That might involve connecting people with potential employers or helping them update their CV or get a driver’s license.

‘There are no sanctions if you can’t find work’

Upston said new job applicants may not have had a face-to-face meeting with MSD for “months and months and months.”

“Some may never have had that face-to-face (meeting). We need to have a welfare system that is more active.”

He said the “hands-off” approach had led to an explosion of people receiving jobseeker support, and the number of people who had been on it for more than a year had increased by around 40,000 under the previous government.

When asked if the sanctions regime was unfair given the difficult labor market, Upston acknowledged that it was now “more difficult” to find work, but that there were still many jobs available.

The initiative was designed to help beneficiaries, not punish them, Upston said.

“There are no penalties if you can’t find a job. It’s about: are you taking steps to improve your chances of getting a job?”

“And look, if someone doesn’t know what those steps are, we want to make sure, as part of the Kōrero Mahithey know.”

Upston was confident that MSD had the resources to hold the seminars multiple times throughout the week throughout the country.

He said early intervention was necessary as, although almost 190,000 people received jobseeker support, only 53,000 of them had case managers at any one time.

The Coalition Government has set a target for 50,000 fewer people to receive jobseeker support by 2030.

“Poverty is a political choice”

In a statement, the Green Party said the coalition was doubling down on “cruelty” by punishing people in poverty.

Greens Social Development spokesman Ricardo Menéndez March said MSD had confirmed there was no evidence that job seminars helped people find employment.

“Poverty is a political choice and this government not only chooses to maintain it but also make life even more difficult for those who suffer from it.

“Rather than punishing people, the Greens are calling for an end to sanctions on welfare benefits and a review of employment support so that people who lose their jobs receive meaningful support to get jobs that match their abilities and aspirations,” said Menéndez March.

Labor and Mana parliamentary finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds told reporters the government’s approach was contradictory given the number of jobs being cut across the public service.

“They’re trying to cut jobs, but at the same time they’re telling people to look for work in a really tight labor market.”

Edmonds said the government was tightening the labor market.

“The main employer in this area is the government, followed by the construction sector. Both are two sectors that are being terribly affected by this government.”