casual workers, contract workers, workforce
Q. Approximately 35% of Australia’s workforce is now employed on a casual or contract basis.
Casual employees are not entitled to annual or sick leave or superannuation. They also face greater employment uncertainty. However, people choose casual work as it can provide higher wages and more flexibility in terms of hours.
Overall, do you think casual work has been good or bad for the following people or groups?
| NET: Good | NET: Bad | Very good | Quite good | Neither good, nor bad | Quite bad | Very bad | |
| Employers | 65% | 11% | 22% | 43% | 24% | 8% | 3% |
| The economy | 46% | 19% | 13% | 33% | 35% | 14% | 6% |
| Individual workers | 42% | 29% | 12% | 30% | 29% | 19% | 10% |
| The nation | 41% | 26% | 11% | 30% | 33% | 18% | 8% |
| For you personally | 30% | 17% | 12% | 18% | 53% | 9% | 8% |
Q. To what extent do you support or oppose the following measures to protect the rights of workers currently employed on casual contracts?
| TOTAL: Support | TOTAL: Oppose | Strongly support | Somewhat support | Somewhat oppose | Strongly oppose | Unsure | |
| Right of workers to convert from casual to permanent after six months constant employment if they choose | 84% | 10% | 53% | 31% | 6% | 4% | 7% |
| Recognise the status of gig-based workers who do regular hours as permanent | 80% | 8% | 44% | 37% | 5% | 3% | 12% |
| Mobile leave entitlements for casuals and contract workers (sick leave, LSL) | 74% | 14% | 41% | 33% | 10% | 5% | 11% |
| TOTAL: Support | Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | ||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||||
| Right of workers to convert from casual to permanent after six months constant employment if they choose | 84% | 80% | 87% | 83% | 81% | 87% | 87% | 83% | 87% | 79% | ||
| Recognise the status of gig-based workers who do regular hours as permanent | 80% | 80% | 81% | 80% | 78% | 83% | 83% | 81% | 85% | 73% | ||
| Mobile leave entitlements for casuals and contract workers (sick leave, LSL) | 74% | 72% | 77% | 82% | 72% | 70% | 78% | 74% | 82% | 65% | ||
| Base (n) | 1,100 | 539 | 561 | 332 | 382 | 386 | 382 | 389 | 92 | 122 | ||
casual workers, employment law, Industrial Relations, workplace reform
Q. The Federal Government has announced new workplace reforms requiring employers to offer permanent employment to casual workers who have been with the same employer for a year and have had regular shifts for six months during that time.
Do you expect these changes to industrial relations laws will be good or bad for the following?
| TOTAL:
Very good / Quite good |
Neither good nor bad | TOTAL:
Very bad / Quite bad |
Don’t know | |
| Big businesses | 41% | 34% | 12% | 14% |
| Small businesses | 35% | 33% | 19% | 12% |
| Employees | 48% | 24% | 17% | 12% |
| People looking for work | 39% | 28% | 20% | 13% |
| People in casual work | 51% | 20% | 17% | 12% |
| TOTAL: Very good / Quite good | Total | Federal Voting Intention | |||
| Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Big businesses | 41% | 44% | 42% | 41% | 44% |
| Small businesses | 35% | 40% | 39% | 30% | 34% |
| Employees | 48% | 43% | 57% | 49% | 48% |
| People looking for work | 39% | 39% | 42% | 37% | 37% |
| People in casual work | 51% | 44% | 42% | 41% | 44% |
casual workers, employment law
Q. According to the Fair Work Commission, “A casual employee does not have a firm commitment in advance from an employer about how long they will be employed for, or the days (or hours) they will work. A casual employee also does not commit to all work an employer might offer. For example, an employee who works to a roster that could change each week and can refuse or swap shifts is casual.”
Which of the following is closer to your view?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||||
| The law should be changed now to make it easier for casual workers to become permanent employees if they want to, so they have greater certainty in their lives | 57% | 56% | 59% | 52% | 57% | 62% | 59% | 56% | 55% | 67% | ||
| Now is not the right time to make changes to the rules for casual workers, because economic uncertainty means there needs to be as much flexibility in the workplace as possible | 43% | 44% | 41% | 48% | 43% | 38% | 41% | 44% | 45% | 33% | ||
| Base (n) | 1,071 | 539 | 532 | 339 | 374 | 358 | 356 | 406 | 102 | 107 | ||
28 May 2012, 280512, 3Q Ep 13, actu, business lobby, casual workers, Jackie Woods, penalty rates
Jackie Woods says the bosses’ enthusiasm for casual workers is self interest at work.
Australia’s business lobby has donned its loose cotton pants and signed up for yoga. And like many fitness enthusiasts, they can’t stop talking about it. It’s flexibility, flexibility, flexibility.
Profits down, or just not high enough? Penalty rates getting on your nerves? Productivity sluggish? For big business, workplace ‘flexibility’ is the cure-all.
The employer-driven agenda to increase workplace flexibility has led to a rise in casual work arrangements in Australia, a sleeper issue catapulted into the headlines by the ACTU campaign on insecure work.
This has led to some extraordinary claims from business about the social benefits of casual work that follow a few predictable lines of argument.
Read more at the Drum