THE AUSTRALIAN Government is seeking to intervene in a test case in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, which seeks to set minimum standards that would give casual workers the right to transfer to secure jobs after six months.
THE AUSTRALIAN Government is seeking to intervene in a test case in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, which seeks to set minimum standards that would give casual workers the right to transfer to secure jobs after six months.
The secure employment test case, lodged by the NSW Labor Council, would severely restrict casual employment if successful, engaging employees through labour hire firms and using contractors, according to Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews.
“The Australian Government wants employers and employees to have maximum choice when negotiating their working arrangements and these restrictions would deny employers and workers the freedom to choose,” he said.
The NSW Labor Council said the test case had three main objectives: casual workers who receive regular work of six or more months should have the option to convert from casual to permanent; companies using labour hire should ensure that workers are paid no less than the company’s own employees, and employers should consult with their workers and unions before contracting out, ensuring employees and contractors receive the same pay and conditions for similar work.
Minister Andrews said that he was concerned that jobs could be at risk if the NSW Commission adopts the rigid, one-size-fits-all approach adopted by the Labor Council.
However NSW Labor Council deputy assistant secretary Chris Christodoulou said unions would present evidence that shows workers in the same job working regular shifts for five years were still being classified as casuals and denied the benefits of permanency such as redundancy pay, paid holidays and sick pay.
“While there are workers who are suited to casual employment, there are many more who would take secure work if given the choice,” Christodoulou said.
“If you want to take out a loan for a car or home, for instance, you have no hope if you can't show you have secure work. In opposing our claim the Howard government is saying workers should have no say in their form of employment and are just cogs in the machine rather than human beings.”
He said that Australia has one of the highest rates of casualisation in the developed world, and that unions believe workers deserve the real choice as to the form of their employment.
