Employment minister David Kemp hopes to "finetune" the failing Job Network with a $55 million pre-election injection of funds, on top of the $1.6 billion the government launched it with four months ago. At that time, Kemp hailed the Job Network as a "bold and imaginative" scheme.
Job Network has turned out to be a pathetic fizzer for the unemployed. It has created more uncertainty and stress for those who are out of work, as well as for those on the other side of the counter, who may not have a job for much longer.
Employment National, the privatised skeleton of the former Commonwealth Employment Service, which won 35% of the government contracts, is pushing ahead with an advertising campaign to improve its image. The company's sales and general marketing manager says it is moving into phase two of the campaign, to clear up "confusion in the market place" following the "success" of the first phase. (If it was so successful, why has Employment National junked the $7 million contract it had with the advertising company which oversaw its launch?)
New, slicker ad campaigns and promises of an improved Job Network will not change the systemic causes of unemployment, or improve the lot of the unemployed who are treated as commodities to be bought and sold in the market place. Watching the Howard government's anti-worker, anti-union offensive, many workers are wondering if their next day at work will be their last.
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