Casual workers and temporary visa holders who are ineligible for JobKeeper have been disproportionately sacked during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Australia Institute.
More than 700,000 employees of companies that receive JobKeeper were laid off because they didn’t qualify for wages subsidies, according to the think-tank's analysis of Treasury data.
The Treasury review of the wage subsidy program showed between mid-March and the end of April around half of all employees ineligible for the $1,500 wage subsidy lost their jobs.
Australia Institute senior fellow David Richardson said the high representation of casual workers in hard-hit sectors contributed to their dismissal rates.
“JobKeeper was designed in a way that deliberately excludes whole sections of the community including some of the most economically-vulnerable people in the country,” he said.
“Too many workers in highly casualised and insecure industries have been intentionally overlooked by this scheme and now we are seeing the consequences in black and white.”
The Australia Institute said Treasury data showed the number of ineligible workers in the labour force halved from 14 per cent to 7 per cent by the end of May.
The think tank suggests this means 723,700 people lost their jobs because they were ineligible workers in businesses that were attracting JobKeeper.
The Treasury review also identified: “job losses have been largely borne by ineligible employees in organisations that are JobKeeper recipient.”
It’s estimated JobKeeper has kept around 3.5 million Australia in work since the program was announced in March.
Unions and advocacy groups have been pushing for the government to extend the support for months over concerns too many workers are missing out.
Casuals who have not worked for one employer for more than 12 months, temporary visa holders and workers of foreign-owned employees are all ineligible for the program.
The federal government on Tuesday extended the JobKeeper scheme until March next year, but at a reduced rate beyond its initial 27 September deadline.
The government has confirmed eligibility rules for the programs will remain unchanged, meaning an estimated 1.1 million temporary visa holders still won’t be able to access the support.
JobKeeper’s eligibility tests will also be further narrowed, requiring businesses to re-qualify for the payment and impose new lower rates for workers doing less than 20 hours a week.
Migrant Workers Centre director Matt Kunkel told SBS News this week that the government had continually ignored temporary visa holders for coronavirus support.
“This government seems intent on forcing temporary visa holders into poverty,” he said.
“Without further support from the federal government to provide income support for all this is a crisis that will only continue to deepen.”
Community groups have seen a surge in temporary visa holders requiring support, with warnings Melbourne’s second lockdown could further increase demand.
This includes reports of international students and temporary visa holders ineligible for coronavirus support lining up at food banks for free meals.
Labor's multicultural affairs spokesperson Andrew Giles said the greater support was needed for temporary migrants trapped in Australia during the pandemic.
"We can't allow people to fall through the cracks and become destitute," he said.
