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Articles on Insecure work

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Agriculture, forestry and fishing, and arts and recreation services are much more precarious for their employees. KATE AUSBURN/AAP

Precarious employment is rising rapidly among men: new research

Despite relatively stable and low levels of unemployment, workers are increasingly concerned that their jobs are at risk.
Since 2001, the proportion of full-time workers who believe they will not be with their current employer has been stable at about 7.5%; and the rate for part-time workers has decreased from 15.5 to 12.6%. Dave Hunt/AAP

Workers are actually feeling less insecure in their jobs

Data show that people don’t feel more insecure in their jobs now. In fact, that feeling is decreasing.
People finishing tertiary education can now expect to take 4.7 years on average to find full-time work. Reuters/Jose Manuel Ribeiro

Frozen wages, insecure jobs, struggling youth, rising inequality, shrinking unions … join the dots

Young people’s transition to work is prolonged and highly precarious. An entry-level job becomes a career, savings become subsistence, weekend shifts become lifelines. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Farm workers hired through labour hire contractors are vulnerable due to Australian law. Image sourced from Shutterstock.com

Australian dream a nightmare for many labour hire employees

With another fruit picking season in Australia have come the usual reports of “dodgy” labour hire contractors operating in farms around the country. Italian satirical news program Striscia recently picked…
Many people prefer casual work and a phased approach to retirement. Shutterstock

If we are to work to 70, we need to rethink work

The norm of permanent full-time terms of employment is under serious challenge. In Australia today more than one-third of employed people work on more variable terms – in particular as casuals (19%), independent…
Online labour marketplaces are capitalising on increased numbers of “casualised” workers. Victor1558/Flickr

Online labour marketplaces: job insecurity gone viral?

Some of the newest enterprises online are those which link workers to anyone who wants a job done. They’re not concerned with employment or jobs but with “tasks”. These are small, one-off, discrete portions…
Tony Abbott has claimed penalty rates force businesses to close their doors AAP

Viewpoints: should penalty rates be abolished?

With a major review of workplace awards underway, the Federal Government has asked the Fair Work Commission to consider whether penalty rates and other minimum conditions are still relevant. In this Viewpoints…
The future for young workers is looking less secure, with casual work taking hold. shutterstock.com

Is job insecurity becoming the norm for young people?

In recent years, job insecurity among young people has risen to unsettling proportions. Last year, The Economist reported that as many as 290 million 15-24 year olds were not participating in the labour…
Flexible work practices: for employees or employers? Tracey Nearmy/AAPImage

Workplace ‘flexibility’ on insecure ground

If you were to choose one buzzword that, despite its vagueness, has dominated industrial relations debate over three decades, it would be “flexibility”. It has emerged again in rhetoric surrounding Toyota’s…
Millions of workers struggle on the emerging periphery while those at the core enjoy the benefits of stability and skills. Shutterstock

Life on edge as new divide ignored

The Fair Work Commission’s recent wage review may have struck an increased pay deal for low-paid workers but its decision overlooks the growth of a worrying new divide in the Australian workforce. With…
Casual workers can often feel as though they are being treated as a commodity by their employers. katiemarinascott

Labour in vain: casualisation presents a precarious future for workers

Welcome to the Future of Work, a series from The Conversation that looks at the ongoing evolution of the workplace. Today, Monash University’s Veronica Sheen examines the consequences of the increasing…

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