Carrots rather than sticks

So what is the solution? The first thing we need to do is acknowledge that for the bulk of the population what gives meaning to our lives is work: it makes us a valuable member of the community. It gives us self-respect and a sense of belonging. When you next see one of these programs about dole bludgers, recognise them for what they are – an aberration – for this is what stimulates our interest; you could not imagine anyone being content to eke out their existence on benefits and so you get annoyed that there are people who have so little personal pride that they are prepared to just take. It is precisely because most of us think like that these programs get an airing.

We can do something about dole bludgers. We could have a two-stream dole system.  Stream one does not require the person to look for work. However, all their financial affairs are constantly under scrutiny, they are assigned a case worker with the task of doing weekly spot checks to make sure that they are not working illegally. 

The second stream is designed for people returning to the workforce. These people will get 80 per cent of the average wage as their benefit. And will be given all the assistance to get a job at a level appropriate to their skills.

We know from overseas experience that countries with low unemployment rates also tend to have in place a very good support system for the unemployed. In the Netherlands people’s dole was set at 80 per cent of the salary they had when they became unemployed. The last time I last looked, the Netherlands had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the E.U.

The third change I would advocate is to expand NEIS. We worry about losing our manufacturing base but we tend to overlook that most people are employed in small and medium enterprises. NEIS investment for me meant that 15 people had full time employment in addition I had about 60 staff on short-term contracts. As I had a policy of recruiting from the ranks of the unemployed, the taxpayer got a very good return on its investment in my training. I would expand NEIS so that it is open to anyone who wants to take the risk and start up a business.

We need to recognise that people are our most valuable goldmine. It is people that create a common wealth so instead of blaming the unemployed for their fate and treating them with little or no respect we should be shifting the focus on ensuring that their skills and talents are valued and employed to enrich all of our lives.