FULL-TIME CASUALS INCREASE AND WAGES STAGNATE UNDER TURNBULL

Today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Characteristics of Employment data exposes an increase in the casualisation of the workforce and confirms stagnant wages growth.

 

The proportion of employees working on a casual basis rose from 23.5 per cent in August 2012 to 25.1 per cent in August 2017.

 

This was driven mainly by full-time casual employees, the overall proportion of which grew from 10.3 per cent in August 2012 to 11.6 per cent in August 2017.

Labor is concerned that increasingly the oxymoronic term “permanent casual” is being used by employers to describe their employees.

While the ability to use casual work is an important component of the labour market, it has been increasingly exploited.  Workers are being employed as “casual” when they are employed indefinitely and engaged in regular patterns of work, when in fact they should be deemed permanent.

Of particular concern to Labor is the subdued wages growth for full time casual employees.

 

Over the previous five years from 2012 to 2017,  the average annual growth of median weekly earnings for male full-time casual employees was 0.8 per cent, down from the 4.1 per cent in the 2007-2012 period. For female full-time casuals, the average annual growth of median weekly earnings was 2.7 per cent, down from 3 per cent over 2007-2012.

 

It is beyond doubt that people are feeling increasingly casualised and precarious at work. They’re worried about finding enough regular hours at work, about flat-lining wages and rising prices.

Labor committed at the last election to examine the definition of “casual” work and to set an objective test for determining when a worker is casual.  

Unfortunately, the Turnbull Government has not done one single thing to address the growing incidence of insecure work.