Fight to stamp out the ‘permanent casual rort’
Senate votes on motion seeking Feds to pull out of High Court battle over casualisation in the mining industry
Mackay
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THE fight against the casualisation of Central Queensland mines has reached Canberra, with a motion criticising the industry practice passing the Senate.
A motion in the Senate on Monday highlighted the rapid growth of 'permanent casual' employment in mining and called on the Federal Government to withdraw its support for a contentious legal battle.
Labor senator Murray Watt moved the motion, which was carried despite the government speaking against it.
The political battle follows a Federal Court judgment in the case of WorkPac v Rossato, which found a person could be identified as a "casual" by an employer but still be considered a permanent employee if they worked regular and predictable shifts.
It follows Senator Watt last week urging Dawson MP George Christensen to persuade the Federal Government to withdraw from a High Court battle over casuals' backpay.
The government entered into the High Court case over whether casual workers that do regular shifts were actually permanent workers with a legal right to potentially billions of dollars in cumulative backpay for annual leave.
"This legal matter is not about stopping conversion from casual to permanent work but about whether casual workers who are paid leave loadings should be paid holiday pay and sick pay on top of that," Mr Christensen said last week.
"The reality is many Mackay businesses will be bankrupted if they are forced to provide all this back pay - and then there'll be no jobs."
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The CFMEU supported the motion passing in the Senate and said the use of long-term workers, like Robert Rossato, was out of control in Central Queensland.
Mining and Energy Queensland President Stephen Smyth said thousands of permanent jobs had been casualised across the state's coal fields and Queensland politicians needed to act urgently to stamp out the "permanent casual rort".
"We are disappointed the government spoke against it but pleased this common sense motion has been supported in the Senate," said Mr Smyth.
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The Senate motion came as the CFMEU's Protect Casual Miners campaign urged politicians to resist employer lobbying to overturn new rights for long-term casual miners
"The Federal Court has twice ruled that the 'permanent casual' employment model in mining is unlawful," Mr Smyth said.
"All we are asking is for the government to back in the court's decision and support permanent jobs with permanent entitlements for mineworkers."
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