Unions Tasmania is backing the call by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the national peak body for workers, to halve insecure work over the next decade. In an address to the National Press Club today, ACTU Secretary Sally McManus called for governments to work with unions on tackling this issue which has seen millions of workers disadvantaged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Insecure work is a significant issue for Tasmanian workers across the private and public sectors. Casualisation has been consistently raised with unions across our State and was reflected in Unions Tasmanias recent worker survey with recipients clearly identifying the pitfalls of job insecurity and calling for more secure jobs in a post-COVID world.

The rise in insecure is a deliberate design feature of our industrial legislation and Governments at both the Federal and State level can address it. They should want to after all, the pandemic has exposed just how dangerous it is for both public health and the strength of our economy to have such a significant proportion of workers without job security or paid leave, said Unions Tasmania Secretary, Jessica Munday.

In Tasmania, we have consistently put to the State Government that they have a significant role to play in reducing insecure work here, said Ms Munday. They have many levers at their disposal including eliminating insecure work in the Tasmanian State Service (our largest employer) as well as through procurement by ensuring contracts are awarded to companies that provide permanent jobs. They should also bring back work such as cleaning and security that has been contracted out of the public sector to provide security of wages and conditions to those workers.

Any recovery effort that fails to tackle job insecurity as a priority wont be the recovery we need. We need to have big and bold aims to rebuild after COVID-19. Halving insecure work would be a great outcome for workers, community health and our broader economic security, said Ms Munday.

For further information or comment: Jessica Munday 0417 454 809

Media Release - Unions Tasmania backs call to halve insecure work.pdf