Yahoo Finance 'Scumbags': Centrelink recipients furious over being 'dobbed in'
A recruiter has landed in hot water after saying he dobbed in almost 2,000 Centrelink recipients in the past two months for trying to rort the welfare system.
Senior People Recruitment director Graham Wynn told 2GB radio he had reported thousands of Centrelink recipients for admitting they were only applying for roles to satisfy their requirements to search for a job.
Wynn told 2GB he had received resumes that blatantly stated the applicant was “only applying for this position to complete my Job Plan with Centrelink”.
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“I’ve been getting these [resumes] for many, many years, and it's increased dramatically since COVID kicked in,” he said.
“Since the 8th of February, nearly 2,000 people we've reported to Centrelink. In our opinion, [this] is not a serious attempt to find work.”
But, the Australia Unemployed Workers Union (AUWU) released a statement in response to Wynn’s claims.
“When the Government unveiled the ‘Dobseeker’ hotline, we predicted exactly this happening: scumbags taking the opportunity to hunt welfare recipients for sport,” it said.
The AUWU said they contacted Wynn, who they claimed was unapologetic about using the Dobseeker hotline.
“We pointed out that there were many times more unemployed people than there were advertised jobs,” it said.
“We pointed out that JobSeeker is half the poverty line and his actions would hurt the most vulnerable.
“We pointed out he was under absolutely no legal obligation whatsoever to use the Dobseeker line. He didn’t care.”
The AUWU said it didn’t believe Wynn’s claims that those applying for the roles were being disingenuous.
“He claimed people were applying for jobs and saying they didn’t want to work but had to apply for ‘mutual’ obligations. We don’t believe it,” the AUWU said.
2GB radio host Ben Fordham said since appearing on the show, Wynn had been receiving angry emails and phone calls.
“Despite this, Mr Wynn does not regret coming on the radio and will continue reporting dole bludgers,” Fordham said.
“Graham Wynn should wear these attacks as a badge of honour.”
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