Casuals - the real picture
The NUW is continuing to deliver meaningful industrial solutions for members working in the changing Australian workplace. One of the biggest challenges the union is taking on is the proliferation of the use of casual employees by employers, and the subsequent lack of job security such employment brings to the workforce.
Casual employees now make up over one quarter of the total workforce, a proportion which has doubled since 1982.
More and more it is not a matter of choice for people about working as a casual. In 1986, 40 percent of casual employees would have preferred to be employed permanently. A recent ACTU survey found that 59 percent of casuals would prefer to be permanent workers.
Many people find that the only entry point into the workforce is through casual employment, with hope that this will lead to permanent employment at a later date.
The gender balance of the casual workforce is also changing, with men making up a greater proportion. Women's share of casual employment has dropped to 53% in August 2001 from 74.1% in 1984. During the same time, the number of male casuals grew by around 200%.
The number of hours worked by casuals has also increased over the past decade.
There is also compelling evidence to show that casual work is not short-term or temporary. A recent study found that the average job tenure for a casual adult employee is almost 4 years in comparison to a so-called permanent full time employee who enjoys a tenure between 6 and 7.5 years.
What these figures indicate is a permanent change in the structure of the Australian workforce.
The NUW Response
Importantly, the NUW realises that, in many ways, casual employees want a better working life.
The first step in achieving this is to organise casual workers to improve their position.
The NUW is committed to campaigning to provide job security for casuals, which ultimately serves the interests of all working people.
The National Union of Workers seeks to ensure that all Enterprise Agreements incorporate both rights for casuals and responsibility on employers to maximise the numbers of permanent full time employees. This includes allowing casuals to move to permanent work.
Wherever possible the NUW is also winning Award variations, improving the rights of casuals and providing for their conversion to permanent employment across whole industries.
Labour Hire Companies
A growing complexity for casuals and the organised workforce is the Labour Hire Company. In many cases employers seek to utilise casual labour from Labour Hire Companies in an effort to undermine union conditions or break union activity.
This is not the fault of those who work for Labor Hire Companies, but the fault of the system and those employers who seek to exploit the system.
The union must remain vigilant to ensure this mechanism is not used to reduce job security, general conditions of employment and the level of Union organisation.
It is therefore doubly important that casuals are involved in the union at an enterprise level. This will protect the casuals and the permanent workforce against exploitation.
Changing the Law
Much of the advantage that employers can take from casuals and Labour Hire arrangements arise because the current laws in Australia are inadequate and fail to hold employers properly accountable.
The Commonwealth and State Governments need to introduce new employment laws designed to protect workers' right to choose between permanent and casual modes of employment and to make sure conditions of employment in either mode are protected.
This is an outcome the National Union of Workers, in conjunction with the ACTU, is working for.
Last modified 2004-10-11 02:18 PM
