Casual Employment in Australia

Due to the shift in the structure of the Australian workforce over the last century, the class structure of the contemporary society has become more complicated than its traditional model. There is no longer a clear distinction between the middle and the working class (as cited in van Krieken et al. 2013, p. 227). In the past, people who work in intellectual occupation had higher income and status, where they received more social honour than people who had manual skills. Nowadays, many people whose job involves manual labour have a higher income than those in intellectual occupation (van Krieken et al. 2013, p. 227). For example, some small business owners are self-employed where they are required to provide manual labour. Since they are both the capitalist and the worker of their own, they can avoid being exploited and have full access to the wealth they produce. Their income and status are therefore high, even though they involve in manual labour.

“There is barely sufficient work for the regular employment of half of our labourers, so that only 1,500,000 are fully and constantly employed, while 1,500,000 more are employed only half their time, and the remaining 1,500,000 wholly unemployed” (Thompson cited in 250)

In order to create Australia’s image as a working man’s paradise, workers gained rights to speak. The first of these issues to be discussed are the hours of work. The balanced working time of eight-hour day movement was introduced in the mid 19th century. It was conducted by trade unions for the right of shorter working hours suitable Australia’s harsh climate. This fairer working condition of eight-hour day has succeeded by the end of the century, when the government introduced fairer laws in the late 1890s which attempted to reduce working hours and give workers Saturday afternoon off. This achievement established a national standard that was aspired by the rest of the world and formed the basis of Australia’s reputation as a ‘working man’s paradise’.

Living and working conditions near the turn of the 20th century in Australia was very diverse and many social issues where apparent. Firstly, working conditions where often poor and the majority of working class Australians had little to no spare time due to being devoted to their jobs. Many men felt entitled to be the strength of a household and provide for the family, and often women and children had to seek employment because most families needed more income flow, however women mostly tended to their household duties . Working conditions where poor and jobs consisted of long hours of labor and little pay, however 4 weeks’ annual leave was granted just as it is today. Secondly, living conditions where very cramped and unsafe, the average

After the global financial crisis in the 1970s, British labour market experienced a great shift in the organization and the new distribution of human resources (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004:95). It is undeniable that this economic recession had brought huge challenges to British economic development. The managers of organizations realized the significance of rising to the occasion in order to remain competitive power, which resulted in the emergence of flexible time work systems (ibid: 96). More specifically, zero-hour contracts have been applied. Pardey (2013:6) points out that zero-hour contracts are labour contracts between employers and employees which offer uncertain work and unfixed working hours. According to Tovey (2013), the study from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), nearly 3.1% of British labour force has

This paper will review and critically evaluate a submission by The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). Being put forward to the Senate Education, Employment and workplace Relations Committee in 2012, in reference to “the adequacy of the allowance payment system for jobseekers and others, the appropriateness of the allowance payment system as a support into work and the impact of the changing nature of the labour market.” (Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Reference Committee, 2012).

Casual employees covered by the national minimum wage also get at least a 25% casual loading. (fairwork.gov.au, 2017)

For instance, “creating lower minimum wages for students and new hires could preserve jobs” as “the student minimum wage would permit employers to hire season workers without bearing the full cost of adult employment” (Hicks). It is also suggested that after employed unskilled workers work for “more after 90 to 120 days of employment”, they can gain a paid more than from when they started working. This policy could spare the training of those unskilled workers by other employee. These recommendations suggest that instead lowering minimum wage for full-time and long-time employers, lowering the rate for students and new employees and sparing the employees from training unskilled workers could essentially save a company money, while establishing a fairer work environment.

Frictional unemployment arises when people enter the labor force or are in the process of changing jobs.

According to Laurie Monsebraaten and Zoe McKnight of the Toronto Star (2013), a whopping 50% of Ontario workers of all income levels get by with precarious work - which has no benefits, often low paying, and often temporary. To make matters even worse, the way the Employment Standards Act handles precarious work allows for legal loopholes that effect temporary and fulltime workers alike. Fortunately, the Ontario government is aware of the situation and is proposing changes to benefit employees. For me, the three most important changes are to paid vacation time, over time hours, and schedule-change compensation.

Many employers hire temporary workers because of the benefits they bring to the firm. According to Martocchio (2016), temporary employees are a cost-effective way to replace permanent workers who are on approved leaves of absence, which facilitates business continuity. Moreover, they do not receive discretionary benefits such as medical coverage. Similarly, as the business needs change, employers face the flexibility to keep staffing levels optimal. Notably, temporary employees help minimize overall staffing expenses since their presence can keep regular workers productive and not overworked. Martocchio (2016) adds that employers hire temporary workers for experience and expertise lacking in the business. For example, entities employ IT specialists and creative people to fill short-term needs. Finally, according to Martocchio (2016), hiring contingent workers allows employers to assess performance of employees for potential

The first result from the solution of increasing minimum wage is improving all salaries from different occupations. Over the last 25 years there have been several changes in employment pattern between men and women, conceding that there are an average of one third of female workers are occupying professional jobs which require a more advanced skills by 2004 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). It can be seen that female employees does not occupy a certain group of occupation, but a diverse types of employment.

Look of workforce in Australia is changing. It is no longer the same as it was 20 years ago. Where young men were the main workers and old people and women were sitting at work with their kids (Nankervis et al. 2006, p.54). Nowadays number of old people has increased dramatically, which is affecting workforce and brings new challenges to human resource. New implications that human resources have to deal with are appropriate age allocation, keeping old employees working for as long as possible and avoiding clashing of different generations. Also combine experience from old employees with knowledge of new technologies from younger ones. All these can be done by correct human resources strategies, which will benefit organizations and

The key stakeholders affected by the replacement of the 457 visa with the TSS are trade unions and business employers/sponsor – of large corporations and small medium enterprises. Most Australian trade unions were sceptical of the 457 visa and received the new TSS readily. Caspersz (2015) posits that trade unions were concerned with and challenged the moral ethics by which overseas workers entered, lived and worked in Australia under the 457 visa. She argues that most overseas workers were significantly disadvantaged in the labour market because of the diversion from the fill of critical skill shortage to employment of cheap labour (Caspersz, 2015). Campbell and Tham (2014) note that most trade unions such as the Australian Industry Group criticize the 457 visa’s lack of practical requirement such as English proficiency and critical skill testing that relegates the process to a mere migration stunt. One evidence of diversion from 457 visa initial motive is the ban imposed on Australian fast food chains from recruiting foreign workers in March 2017 (Conifer, 2017). The temporary skill visa was meant to hire genuine critical skill candidates and not low skill candidates. However, this narrative has changed and some trade unions assume that the TSS will streamline the

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (n.d). Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, Australia. Retreived September 1, 2003, from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookupMF/88F55138D00A58E4CA2568A9001393B9