Jump to main content
IndustriALL logotype
Article placeholder image

Impact of precarious work under scrutiny in Australia

9 February, 2012Commencing on a series of public hearings across Australia in February, the Howe Inquiry is examining the impact of insecure jobs on the workplace and the community having already received over 500 submissions.

AUSTRALIA: A series of 23 public hearings taking place around Australia on the impact of insecure work on Australians will commence in Brisbane on February 13, after more than 500 workers, unions and community groups lodged submissions with the Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia.

The Independent Inquiry was commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to examine the impact of insecure jobs on the workplace and the community. Insecure work - casual, fixed or short-term contracts, labour hire, and contracting - has almost doubled in the last two decades to make up about 40 per cent of the workforce in Australia today.

"Job security is one of, if not the most important issues affecting the Australian workforce right now and we have seen recently just how easy it is for major employers to cut jobs and turn people's lives upside down," said ACTU President Ged Kearney.

"Workers who are engaged in insecure work constantly live with the threat that their hours could be cut or their jobs may disappear completely. These workers have no job security and they have told us they cannot plan their futures, they find it hard to get a mortgage, to go on a holiday, and even to watch their children play sport," said Ms Kearney.

The inquiry has been swamped with more than 500 submissions, including from around 450 workers eager to tell their stories and give first-hand accounts of how insecure work affected people's personal and professional lives.

Affiliates of the IMF, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation is a Global Union Federation have all made submissions to the inquiry.

Submissions can be downloaded and the full hearing schedule is available at: www.securejobs.org.au