Are you a casual worker?
All casual workers know how scary it can be going to a job where you have no security – no right to ongoing work, no sick pay, no holiday pay, nothing at all.
That’s why bosses love to make people casual – so they can hire and fire them as they please. They can’t do that to permanent workers, which is why bosses hate making people full time or part time.
The ongoing ‘casualisation’ of the Australian workforce is just one of the reasons why so many people are under-employed in Australia, while our corporations are making record profits.
The right to ask
Last week the Fair Work Commission issued a landmark ruling that all casual workers should know about.
Under this new ruling, many casual workers who have been working regular, consistent hours for more than 12 months, will have the right to ask their boss to make them a permanent employee.
It’s a good start to tackling the problem of casualisation, but it’s not enough.
The Fair Work Commission refused to give workers the right to RECEIVE a permanent position – that would have upset too many bosses. Workers only have the right to ASK.
This is a start. But your boss can refuse your request for any reason, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
The system is still broken. We need to change the rules so that workers have more than the right to ask – they have to right to RECEIVE.
The silver lining
One positive side effect of this new ruling is that employers will now have to lift their game when it comes to negotiating an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for their worksites.
The law says that any Enterprise Bargaining Agreements have to be “better off overall” than a worker who is on the minimum wage (the “Award rate”). This is called the “BOOT Test”.
This means that if an employer is negotiating with a strong union, those union workers can demand employers must do better than simply giving casuals the “right to ask” for permanent work – they can negotiate for the right to RECEIVE permanent work.
How do we make strong unions? With strong workers just like you!
Join the union today so that YOUR voice can be heard when it comes time to negotiate for a better deal at your workplace.