ACTU releases latest report focussing on casual labour force

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has published a new report focussing on casual labour force usage in Australia.

The report’s key findings were:

• Australia has the highest proportion of temporary labour in the OECD at one in four
• Most casuals are not paid 25 percent more than permanent workers in the same job
• The longer someone works in a casual position the more likely they are to be paid less than permanent staff
• About half of all casuals say they would prefer permanent employment with paid leave rights and job security

Matters surrounding casual labour force issues are important to the early education sector due to the widespread use of casuals in the workforce.

According, to the ACTU’s latest report 17.7 per cent of the education and training workforce is hired on a casual basis.

This compares to an average of 23.5 per cent across the 19 industries classified in the report.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus commented “While some people do choose casual work because they need flexibility, many would prefer the paid leave and security that comes with permanent work” and went on to note “People who are engaged as genuine casuals should receive a genuine premium for the lack of paid leave and job security.

This report is the latest release associated with the Union’s Change the Rules campaign which was launched on 21 March 2018 and aims to rebut comments made by Workplace and Deregulation Minister Craig Laundy who claimed the campaign was based on lies.