Labor makes play for casual workers’ votes with job security reforms
Business leaders have rejected Labor’s proposal to grant casual “gig economy” workers leave entitlements.
NSW
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Business leaders have rejected Labor’s proposal to grant casual “gig economy” workers leave entitlements and criticised the reform plan for lacking detail and risking confidence.
The reforms unveiled by Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Wednesday, including giving insecure workers access to sick and annual leave, and placing a 24-month limit on casual contracts were criticised by employer groups and the federal government.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said to give Australia’s 3.5 million casual workers additional entitlements on top of the loading they already received amounted to a “tax on business” of $20 billion.
“There is more work to be done on ensuring the safety of a whole range of workers in the gig economy,” he said.
“No one in Australia should be paid under the minimum wage.
“That is an enforcement issue, that is not an issue about how you structure employment in Australia.”
Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association chief executive Charles Cameron said Labor had offered the same “motherhood statements” voters rejected at the last election, and after three years “still hasn’t progressed beyond a policy thought bubble”.
“A one-size-fits-all approach to Australian work laws may have worked in the 80s, but it won’t work in 2021 and beyond,” he said.
“Same job same pay sounds like a nice idea, but in a modern economy where there are multiple employers, employees and contractors working alongside one another, often for very short periods of time, this nice idea quickly becomes unworkable in practice.”
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott questioned by Labor wouldn’t support the federal government’s changes to “reinvigorate the enterprise bargaining system” that would mean people “earn more with better conditions”.
“Our priority must be job creation, anything that locks in rigid rules and returns us to outdated 1980s thinking will take us all backwards,” she said.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has revealed he “briefed” major employer organisations before announcing Labor’s plan yesterday.
“I expect that there will be some opposition to what we’re announcing,” he said.
“Some businesses want to have just a free-for-all. That’s the truth.”
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s workplace relations director Scott Barklamb said Labor’s plan was for “fewer jobs and closing businesses”.
“It’s a plan to kill off casual employment, something unions are desperate to do, but which will harm young people, small and family business people and local communities,” he said.
“Wiping out casual work won’t lead to more part or full time positions, it will lead to fewer jobs and lower pay.”
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus welcomed Labor’s announcement, saying the economy would benefit when workers had more “security and certainty”.
“For far too long Governments have sat on their hands while jobs have been casualised and uberised,” she said.
ALBO V UBER: LABOR MAKES PLAY FOR CASUAL WORKERS’ VOTES
Labor is poised for a fight with big business under a plan to give rideshare and delivery workers annual leave, and force employers to offer long-term casuals a permanent contract.
Federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will today (WED) unveil Labor’s “Secure Australian Jobs Plan,” which includes a suite of industrial relations reforms aimed at boosting casual workers’ rights.
In a speech in Brisbane on Tuesday night, Mr Albanese will confirm Labor’s plan to place a 24-month cap on how long employers can roll casuals onto new contracts, and a crackdown on “cowboy labour hire” firms where people are paid less for doing the same role.
Mr Albanese will argue current industrial relations laws do not properly cover the “gig economy” leaving employees at Deliveroo, Uber, Airtasker and other platforms without fair leave entitlements or security.
“Beneath the surface we are seeing a depressingly familiar picture, workers scrambling for insecure jobs and agreeing to below minimum wage rates to perform work that's paid by the piece,” he will say.
“Because of the way the gig economy is being structured, workers are being denied basic rights such as award benefits, superannuation, the right to collectively bargain and access to unfair dismissal protections.”
Mr Albanese will say it’s time for a “national approach” and commit Labor to working with state and territory governments, unions and business to develop “portable entitlements” for Australians in the gig economy.
“Amid the darkest days of the pandemic, one of the most confronting revelations was how many workers – casuals, contractors, gig workers – had no right at all to paid sick leave,” he will say.
“This is about supporting innovation and change in the economy, while looking after the workers whose sacrifices make that creativity and dynamism possible.”
The move will likely be heavily resisted by business, following a decision from the Fair Work Ombudsman in 2019 which fund Uber drivers were independent contractors and therefor not entitled to the minimum wage, sick or annual leave.
Mr Albanese will also announce Labor plans to limit the number of consecutive fixed term contracts an employer can offer for the same role to 24 months or no more than two contracts.
“Once that limit is reached, the employer will be required to offer a permanent position – either part time or full time,” he will say.
Writing for The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, Mr Albanese will further outline his vision, explaining how technological change has “altered work patterns” and the “creeping hand of casualisation” is denying millions of Australians job security.
“Having a good, secure job means you can qualify for a home loan, raise a family and set your path to a good life and a comfortable retirement,” he said.
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