kong

More Interesting news form "the land of oppurtunity" Hope the pommie refugees don't mind giving up their 20-30 days paid holiday, bank holiday/sick pay. Pah, who cares about employment rights and guarantees on pay/working hours and not been laid off with an hours notice?? Who needs such trappings when you have the beach??

Seems like the Aussie employment market is resembling that of the third world as it is revealed that;

More than half jobs now casual
By Aban Contractor
June 7, 2004



More than half of all new jobs created in the past 16 years have gone to casual workers with just over a quarter now employed on a casual basis, making them ineligible for paid sick leave or holiday pay.

Research compiled by the federal parliamentary library shows that almost 60 per cent of casual employees do not know how much they will earn in a week and more than one in three would prefer to work longer hours.

They are less likely to be covered by workers compensation and more likely to work on weekends, not have undergone training and have no superannuation coverage.

"This analysis lends weight to the argument that casual employment is not a preferred option for many workers, but rather an alternative to unemployment when no ongoing jobs are available," the paper, Casual employment: trends and characteristics, says.

"... In the 15 years to 2003, male casual employment grew by 151 per cent compared with an increase of 62 per cent in female casual employment. Today there are about an equal number of males as there are females in casual work."


Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia - each with well over a quarter of all workers in casual jobs - have the highest incidence of casual employment. NSW is fourth with just over one in four workers.

Labor's workplace relations spokesman, Craig Emerson, said the figures destroyed Federal Government claims that all casuals freely chose to be casuals, adding that the trend was set to accelerate with one in three workers expected to be casual by the end of the decade.

"This research also confirms that the alarming growth in casual work as a form of employment is not good for Australia's skills development," he said yesterday. "Businesses don't have the same incentives to invest in the skills of casual workers as they do in a permanent workforce."

But the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews, said the Australian Government supported casual employment as a legitimate and essential part of a flexible labour market.

"We need a flexible labour market to create more jobs and higher wages for more Australians," he said. "Casual work is often the preferred option of people such as students balancing work and study or mothers returning to the workforce."

The ACTU secretary, Greg Combet, said there were 2.2 million casual workers in Australia who had no access to paid sick leave or paid annual holidays. Sixty per cent of those people - more than 1.3 million - were long-term casuals who had been with their employer for more than a year.

"Around 450,000 casuals have been with their employer more than five years - these people are permanent employees in all but name," Mr Combet said. "On a personal level, casuals have difficulty borrowing for a home or car, accessing childcare and managing their household budgets. They even miss out on paid leave to care for a sick child."

The paper found that more than one in five casuals were in the 25-34-year age group and, with the exception of students, casual employment was probably "an involuntary work arrangement" for many workers.

Forty per cent of casuals had a post-school qualification and only 11 per cent had a bachelor degree or higher whereas the corresponding figure for employees in permanent work was 59 per cent and 24 per cent.

ALL aboard the Dreamland Express!!

big yin

Party pooper!!!

hevs

pommie refugees, hmmmm, PB?? that you???

mutant

PB???? Don't kid yourself, this is Dazuk...remember him?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/membe...o&userid=12699

And here were his last words as Daz.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...postid=1292343

hevs

nope Daz was very verbally abusive as i remember. PB had a different tone entirely. Maybe it neither, perhaps its wilf

Siren & Brian

You forgot to mention that casuals get paid extra per hour to make up for holiday and sick pay.

Nah you didnt forget, that would make it balanced.

Siren's better half

kong

Yeah and a lot of wokers are forced to be "casual" for years on end. I was a casual for a while in Sydney. I got 2 bucks an hour more than the perm staff, big deal. I am sure most workers would prefer to have a contract, that gave them standard rights. Such as right to redundancy pay, being given a months notice of lay off, not an hour, to have a set wage/working hours. As well as paid sickness, hoilday etc.

Another fact for you, in the UK if you are called into work as a temp/casual you are guarenteed 8 hours pay, regardless of actual hours worked, in Oz it is a paultry 4. I got sent home, when it was quite after only 4 hours on a few occasions.Barely worth getting out of bed for. Just another little culture shock for the pampered Poms in the tough hard Oz employment market.

Sam&Andy

Give it a rest will you!!! It is starting to get tedious now!

HiddenPaw

Paid sick leave as a permie?? What a luxury!! The company I worked for in Oz (which was a pretty big financial firm) awarded 5 days paid sick leave p.a. If you were sick more than 5 days, no pay!! I guess we were spoilt in the UK!

steandleigh

Hiya Kong,

have read this post and, no doubt, if the information is true, then there are going to be plenty of us in for a bit of a surprise when it comes to negotiating a deal with prospective employers.

I don't doubt that your info ( from your perspective ) is true, am just wondering why you post these posts?

You seem to spend an awful lot of time profferring information about australia to the wannabees, all of which seems negative in comparison to 'ole blighty.

I can only imagine that you must think its a way of preparing prospective migrants to expect the worst.

I know if it were me, I'd probably be concentrating on getting my life in the uk sorted, which isn't too peachy either.

Not a criticism, more of a why and also ta for the info.

walla

Hey Kong

I thought after todays vote you would have mellowed a bit and stopped cutting and pasting. Your second post was fine coz you gave us some of your own experiences, but oh dear, the first, come on, give us a break. I think the poll sent you the wrong way and now you think you have carte blanche.

We are intelligent people on here most have degrees, trades and special skills so we know how to make our own minds up, d'ya folla?

I'm starting to think you are an agent for the Australian Government because their quotas are met for the next ten years and you are their agent sabatour (apologies to French members if the spellings wrong!!)

I am very disapointed to find out you are a mutant too. I can't for the life of me understand someone who has been banned to come back again, I am searching my mind and reaching for my psychology books as I write to get a handle on you.

I have found this quote:

"I've had about three group disrupters, one man in particular- a lawyer [sotto vocce] James Wilson- very bright-who just made things miserable for me, but I would always tell him to get on the stage and do something. Well, I was getting desparate and then I bumped into his therapist, who said right now behind the mans bluff and front he needed the group (ie members forum) very much and that it probably meant more to him than anything else he was getting out of the hospital- he just needed the support. Well, that made me feel altogether different about him. He's out now"

Erving Goffman, Essays On The Social Situation of Mental Patients And Other Inmates, page 148, Penguin Books, London 1981.

So there you go Kong, I thought my research days were over, but I'm back thanks to you.

Anyway Big Bro is on and the kids need the computer, but will be back later for more psychology lessons!!!!

Walla

madsad

I guess the "Hug a Kong day"came to an abrupt end?!!!

Donna.

Megalania

Those of you emigrating who do not have skills in high demand or who can not sell themselves need to think this over a bit and maybe do something about that.

If you can not get work or at least a nibble before you set off it should be telling you that you may have some trouble.

Hopefully passing the points test is some indication you might have above average chances but I would not count on it.

walla

Hi Megalania

Agree with all. What surprises me about Oz is they don't require job offers before migration. Personally I will shovel shite until I find a job as I'm sure most would.

Wife and I have the skills in demand thing but we are under no illusion it's going to be a hard slog to get the jobs we want to pay for the luxeries (and children) we desire.

Good post.

Walla

steandleigh

Personally I will shovel shite until I find a job as I'm sure most would.



Best of intentions and all that but the harsh reality is that there are plenty on here who have gone to australia, haven't been able to secure a job within their particular field and so return to the uk as its easier for them to get said job - they aren't prepared ( for whatever reason ) to shovel said shite.

separates the wheat from the chaft?

No malice meant - i'm a shite shoveller too.