Unions, Greens brand Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council report ‘underwhelming’

Workers and the climate have been ignored by the government’s expert panel that is trying to find a way out of the COVID crisis, unions and the Greens say.

• Committee appointed to restart state economy
• COVID-19 recovery council wants to hear from the community

THE report of a government economic recovery committee glossed over the interests of workers and completely ignored climate change, unions and the Greens said.

The Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council handed down its interim report on Monday.

While it identified the problems caused by casual and insecure work, it did not make any recommendations to address them, Unions Tasmania secretary Jessica Munday said.

She described the report as underwhelming and predictable, given the nine-person panel did not include workers’ representatives.

“They make 64 recommendations and they observe in the report at multiple points Tasmania’s reliance on casual work and part time work — literally half of our working population work less than 35 hours a week.

“They make no recommendations around the role government could play or what structural change that could be made … they find it significant enough to write about in the report and say it’s problematic, but there’s no recommendation on things that they can change.”

Unions Tasmania secretary Jessica Munday. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Ms Munday said the report was light on detail on the role of the public sector as a major employer and suggested COVID-safe planning was onerous for employers.

“This is a report written by a council which hasn’t talked to workers, because outside losing their job, the next thing that workers are worried about is their health and safety on the job.

“They’re effectively calling for the regulator to take a light touch.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the report was “a business as usual approach that pays lip service to longstanding social and economic disadvantage and makes no mention of climate change”.

“Regrettably, the Council has not presented a vision for a sustainable, post-COVID Tasmania where we lift people out of disadvantage and give young people, who are terrified about the state of the climate, hope for the future and the skills to equip them for a heating planet.

“It’s ironic that an interim report which talks about taking a wellbeing focus, fails to address the biggest factor that will impact on the lives of young Tasmanians – climate change.”

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