Thursday, August 18, 2016

Bosses Threaten Loss of Tens of Thousands Jobs

Giving casual workers an "absolute right" to become permanent after six months will increase outsourcing and jeopardise tens of thousands of jobs, employers have warned.

Union leaders have been pressing the Fair Work Commission to have new rights established in every industry that would give 2.2 million casuals the ability to convert after working "regularly" for six months with one employer.

There are over two million casual employees in Australia.
Final submissions are being heard before the tribunal's full bench this week.

It comes after a separate landmark ruling on casual employment was delivered on Monday, when the tribunal decided that workers who start as casuals before becoming permanent will have the full length of their service counted in redundancy payments.

One Fair Work commissioner, who disagreed with the verdict, has raised concerns this could open the door to claims for other entitlements, such as annual leave.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has argued its proposed new clauses to allow casuals to transfer to permanent positions would be "cost-neutral" for employers, because they were already required to pay higher loadings to compensate casuals for not receiving sick pay and annual leave.

"Casualisation does not just impact workers in service industries like hospitality ... many qualified teachers, nurses, scientists or engineers are in contract or casualised employment," ACTU president Ged Kearney said.

"Workers on rotating rosters, on short-term contracts or with fluctuating hours with no access to basic entitlements like sick leave, lose out in many modern workplaces."

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