WHO CAN JOIN ?

The Embassy is an organisation registered as non profit. See Mission Statement site on front page for more details.

It is an unincorporated association operating under its own written constitution. Send a stamped SAE to the Embassy via our postal address shown on the front page or your phone number to receive details of our next meeting. There our Constitution can be viewed.

WE HAVE A WIDE DEFINITION OF UNEMPLOYMENT, BUT WE CURRENTLY GIVE MORE SAY TO THOSE JOINING WHO ARE IN FACT BASICALLY JOBLESS.

However we see the unemployed as being someone who is not fully employed in the paid workforce. If we said it was anyone unable to support themselves in a decent manner with their current paid work - we would be including the working poor, who, with high real estate prices in major cities and car dependence - seems to include twice as many people as those who could be described as unemployed. Such people however have the union movement to fight for them - if they are wise enough to support it.

UNEMPLOYED = NOT FULLY EMPLOYED and not receiving sufficient part-time or casual wages or support from other sources to match the living conditions of a fully employed person with a decent lifestyle.

A PERSON IN PUBLIC HOUSING or with subsidised rental or 25% or less than their usual income (which is itself 25% or less than average male weekly earnings or AMWE) should be considered to be living in poverty in a modern "western" society. Those with the same low income (whether from Government dole, work-for-dole or part-time /casual earnings) but only able to get market-level rental in an expensive city (such as Sydney) are probably feel too preoccupied with surviving from week to week to have time to get involved in any sort of human rights/self determination organisation like ours.

Of course such people have even more at stake in the success of our campaigns on such issues as public housing and access to good dental health facilities. In any case, we are widening our membership categories to include people with disabilities, full time students, work-for-dole and part-time/casual workers (if under AMWE in income) to at least associate membership. This leaves us the discretion to later include such people as full members if they demonstrate real interest in our aims and projects. We may in time alter our constitution to let them routinely be voted onto our management committee.

Our current annual membership and subscription rates are shown below. Donations of course are always welcome - which like annual dues are receipted - but membership/supporter donations are not expected until a membership/subscription form has been approved by our organisation.  

       JOBLESS MEMBERSHIP costs $2 per year
       ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP     $5 per year    

       SUPPORTER                            $20 per year
              if associate member eligible    $10 per year

These amounts are only confirmed on the actual membership form you receive - though such dues are unlikely to increase by much - if at all. Except for people attending Embassy meetings, any payments should be made by cheque or money order to the Unemployed Peoples Embassy - postal address shown on home page.

If you are interested send a stamped SAE for a membership form to the Embassy address shown on the front page and we'll contact you about the time of the next meeting for perspective members. For non Sydney residents an on-line chat room and eventually video conferencing may be developed for members and others.