The Government is trying to push this legislation through at a time when they should be thanking and supporting workers who have worked hard to keep Australia moving throughout this pandemic. Instead, they want these changes to coincide with the end of pandemic financial support measures.

Summary:

If passed, the legislation will increase the possibility of workers being placed in insecure work as they may be classified as casuals when they really work part-time. Of course, if you are ‘casual’ an employer can choose not to offer you shifts. The casualisation of the workforce (particularly in aged care) created considerable issues during COVID-19 where employers attempted to restrict the right of workers to work in more than one workplace. However, workers were in the situation of needing to have more than one job because the employer would not allocate sufficient permanent hours to enable them to care for their families and pay their bills.

What it means for you:

There are many changes proposed but one that will be of interest to our members is that work may well become even less secure in the future. The right to request conversion from casual to permanent employment can be rejected without reason from the employer and there are no appeal rights. Part-time employees may be given limited hour contracts but be expected to work extra hours with no entitlement to overtime payments. The employer is no longer going to have to advise that workers have a right to be represented during Enterprise Agreement Bargaining and changes to voting processes on an Enterprise Agreement make it easier for a substandard Agreement to be ‘passed.’

Learn more:

• More information on the Omnibus Bill can be found here.
• Read the ANMF’s Federal submission to the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Job and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 here
• Read the ANMF’s State submission to the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Job and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 here

Get involved:

• If you are concerned about the changes, please spare 1 minute to contact your crossbench senator, to let them know the risks here.
• Sign the ‘You can’t heal the economy by hurting workers’ petition here

Updates correct as at 17 March 2021.
Authorised by Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary