Create WINZ as it should be

13 comments on “Create WINZ as it should be ”

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1. Nic the NZer 1

   14 September 2017 at 8:30 am

   I wont be able to attend but I have a suggestion to submit.

   WINZ should administrate a Job Guarantee alongside their benefit schemes.

   An unemployed person can then go to WINZ and register to work up to 40 hours a week in a Job Guarantee position. WINZ will, while they are available, pay them the minimum wage if they actually worked or not.

   A Job Guarantee employer can go to WINZ and sign up for workers. They will be able to demonstrate the work is not for profit. The work contributes to the public good in some way. The work is not particularly hazerdous or requireing specialist training or skills. If there is training it can be performed on the job. Any supervision and tools required to complete the work must demonstrably be available and provided. Having demonstrated this WINZ will send Job Guarantee workers to fill these roles. There will be no cost to the employer for this. The employer may have to complete some paper work to record who worked on these tasks and how many hours they completed.

   WINZ will coordinate between the workers and employers and pay the wages from its budget. Many will prefer work to benefits so WINZ outlays in benefit payments will likely shrink as will the unemployment rate. The economy will be less inflation prone as workers can easily shift from Job Guarantee to private sector work thereby reducing worker shortages.
   • bwaghorn 1.1

     14 September 2017 at 10:15 am

     pest eradication would fit well with your plan.

     beach cleanups
     • Nic the NZer 1.1.1

       14 September 2017 at 6:13 pm

       Absolutely, good ideas. I think that Labours youth employment with DOC will be a little similar to a Job Guarantee scheme and may involve pest eradication. It deserves to be more widely available however.

       Other potential Job Guarantee job suggestions welcome.
2. greywarshark 2

   14 September 2017 at 11:16 am

   Case Managers back that are easily reachable. Perhaps if you have to phone and they are busy, you can be asked to press a number if you can ring back at a certain time that is then booked, or another button says what time can you ring back and if you are not available then, you have to go to the bottom of the queue. There are too many barriers to beneficiaries interacting with the Dept.

   Also stop paying bonuses for targets. Do start asking bennies if they have ideas of work that will help them move on, and learn on the job even if poorly paid or free for a period providing there is work and assessment at the end of it.

   Encourage people with money if they can achieve something. People have so little including money then it would be a powerful incentive. Start small, turning up to a work experience job on time and working the ordinary work hour required. Being there would be more important than being great at the job. Work up from that.
   Give some positive feedback. Repeat.
3. useyourhead 3

   14 September 2017 at 11:22 am

   Winz isnt the problem. The problem is inequality.. Everyone is so heavily in debt now that they gaurd their assets fiercely.. materialisim has become so dominant in our culture that people are forgetting what it means to be human. To offer a hand of help to those in need. “im doing 60 hours a week to pay my morgage , those lazy bastards should get off their ass” . We have become a nation of sour wannabes.. That was one of the reasons people looked up to john key i believe ,The state house child that made millions.. People need to wake up and say fuck off to that bullshit.. The greatest currency in life is to be surrounded by happy people with smiles on their faces .. We need to stop focusing on making money ,having the new iphone blah blah. Dont work a saterday to get your kid the new iphone.. take the day off to go watch your kid play rugby or netball etc then spend the rest of your day with your family. learn to enjoy each other again and socialise as famalies and friends.. Give time and love to your community, ask your neighbour if everything is alright with life or do they need help in any way. I grew up in a beutiful country that i am now ashamed of.. we have sold our souls for printed paper and now its time to pay the piper.. WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE
4. AsleepWhileWalking 4

   14 September 2017 at 11:33 am

   Better funding for business start ups. Current position is to pit a group of people disadvantaged in the employment market against each other competing for limited funding.

   New improved version would be if your business stands a good chance of success funding would be available.
5. Bill 5

   14 September 2017 at 12:44 pm

   Changing the lay-out and atmosphere of those offices so you didn’t feel like a piece of hoof waiting for the chain would be good.

   Beyond that, train every WINZ employee in advocacy so they actively challenge the framework the DoL sets up to ensure maximum entitlements are received. Think of it in the same terms as accountants challenging the IRD framework.

   And maybe throw every employee through a rudimentary social work course to boot.
6. Ethica 6

   14 September 2017 at 2:53 pm

   Self-opening doors, smiling and welcoming staff who say how can we help you? (also on the phone). Self-opening doors so you can drop in at any time and sort out issues or appointments, or get extra money, with those same welcoming staff.

   I, Daniel Blake, used as a training video for how and what to avoid.

   Most importantly respect and dignity for all whatever circumstances people find themselves in modelled from the top ie Prime Minister, Ministers and MSD and WINZ executives.
7. weka 7

   14 September 2017 at 3:01 pm

   Toilets in every WINZ office available to clients without having to ask. Changing rooms for babies.

   More private interview spaces, and offering them each time someone makes an appointment.

   Case managers. Actual case managers, not just assigned staff.
8. tracey 8

   14 September 2017 at 3:14 pm

   And the people who choose to work with clients had a say in how it works. I was appalled to learn that if you run out of money and go to WINZ for, say, money for food. It is a loan. Your next payment is deducted for the loan. Accordingly most debt owed by beneficiaries is to WINZ
   • weka 8.1

     14 September 2017 at 3:18 pm

     Food grants should generally be non-recoverable (there’s a limit per year though), but you are right that most others are established as debt. Work around is if you have an unexpected bill is to pay the bill and then get a food grant because you don’t have enough money that week. It’s a risk though.
9. Ethica 9

   14 September 2017 at 3:41 pm

   Big increases in both benefits and abatement rates. Better communication and more transparent processes so you don’t get benefit cut off letters after the cut has happened.
10. Ethica 10

    14 September 2017 at 3:42 pm

    And they could get rid of that big black hole where everything gets lost.

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