THE Redlands Unemployed Workers' Union branch is concerned for the welfare of some employees and unemployed residents after changes to JobKeeper and JobSeeker schemes announced this week.
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But Bowman MP Andrew Laming has backed the controversial changes.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that both programs would be scaled down, with payments being reduced from late September.
The $1500 fortnightly JobKeeper subsidy will be cut to $1200 for full-time workers, or $750 for people working fewer than 20 hours a week.
It will be reduced again in January to $1000 for full-time workers and $650 for part-time.
The coronavirus fortnightly supplement for those on JobSeeker will be slashed from $550 to $250, meaning the overall fortnightly payment - including the supplement and the base JobSeeker rate - will be reduced from $1100 to $800.
Those on JobSeeker will now be able to earn up to $300 before their payment is reduced, compared to the previous threshold of about $100.
From August, mutual obligation will be reintroduced. People will have to connect to employment services and undertake four job searches a month to receive the payments.
Mr Laming supported the decision, saying it was important to re-assess payments as more businesses slowly returned to their pre-COVID turnovers.
The scheme had helped businesses keep their doors open for the last few months and tapered rates would help them plan into 2021.
But Australia Unemployed Workers' Union Brisbane-Bayside secretary Callen Sorensen Karklis said there were concerns for part-time workers.
"We are concerned for the welfare of many casuals (and part-time) workers who aren't making the 20 hour a week quota in these tough times, including visa workers," he said.
"We have ... workers from tourism, hospitality, education, retail, gig economy jobs like Uber Eats struggling to make ends meet as the economic cliff begins to become more of a reality past September."
Speaking on the JobSeeker changes, Mr Laming said the reduced payments would drive people to seek work.
"Refusing to take up job offers can activate mutual obligation clauses and lead to additional payments being lost," he said.
"For those on JobSeeker and pursuing work opportunities, the reporting threshold for additional hours has been boosted ... to $300 per fortnight, to encourage workers to earn this amount without affecting their payments."
The Australian Unemployed Workers' Union said social security should mean everyone could live above the poverty line.
The future of the coronavirus supplement beyond the end of December is unclear, with many concerned they will have to return to the pre-coronavirus unemployment payment of about $40 a day.
The AUWU also condemned the return of mutual obligations from next month, which it has long been fighting to abolish.
