What have we become?
Your story detailing the challenges attached to Dr Annie Warner’s employment should have every Australian wondering what kind of country we have become (BDN, 11/9).
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Rightly or wrongly, there was a time not so long ago when casual employment was the province of the unskilled and poorly educated. The more skilled and educated could be more certain of permanent work, while those who did not want to work full-time, could usually find permanent part-time work where they still received the same benefits as full-time workers, albeit on a pro-rata basis.
While it is often said that our casual workforce has only grown from 20 per cent to 25 per cent over the past 20 years, this ignores the fact that the workforce itself has grown by almost three million (33 per cent) in the same period, meaning that the number of casual employees has grown by 1.2 million to just over 3 million, with that increase representing more than 40 per cent of the total increase in employment numbers.
The simple truth is that the numbers are often used to conceal the fact that the casualisation of our workforce has spread to the professional ranks, including highly educated and skilled people like Dr Warner involved in education, health care and teaching, and with a large number of those employees being women.
While it is often argued that many Australians appreciate the flexibility that casual employment supposedly offers, it is nevertheless a luxury that doubtless most would prefer to do without: one only has to look at the number of casual employees who would like more work (1.3 million or 40 per cent of all casual employees in January of this year).
And while Dr Warner naturally worries about whether she will benefit from another short-term contract at the University of Wollongong next term, there are now school teachers and many other professionals across a variety of disciplines who are surviving on casual employment on a day-to-day basis. This disempowerment of a significant percentage of our workforce is surely just more evidence of the growth of inequality in our society.
It used to be that employees were seen to be a prized asset of every enterprise: up there with customers and shareholders. These days it appears that all three are taking a bath for the benefit of management.
Perhaps the challenges of inequality would be solved if all employees, including executives and management, were exposed to the same insecure conditions of employment as our casual workforce? We could then return to the task of trying to improve everyone’s lot.
John Richardson, Wallagoot
Warming support
We would like to say a big thank you to Bega Valley residents for their incredible support of Foodbank this winter through the Woolworths winter fundraising appeal.
With demand for food relief outstripping supply, you have significantly helped warm-up winter for some of the most vulnerable people in the community.
By generously adding so many $2 Foodbank tokens to shopping trolleys, Bega Valley residents helped us reach our national goal of providing 762,948 meals to Australian families in need.
With each token enabling Foodbank to provide four warming meals, NSW contributed 177,884 meals.
With 40% of food insecure households families having dependent children, the funds raised during the winter appeal have helped struggling families make ends meet.
Thank you once again for your generosity at a time of year when families most desperately need assistance. Woolworths’ aim of supporting the growing need for hunger relief and helping feed millions of Australians in need would not have been possible without your support.