Percentage of temporary employees 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Australia The report of the Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia Belgium
21
Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland
Who is most effected?
Italy Luxembourg Netherlands
For too many workers, there is no choice but to forfeit basic
Portugal
rights like job security and paid leave in order to find work
Spain
– and often the only work they can get is in poor paying jobs
Sweden
where they have little control and face many of the downsides
United Kingdom Insecure work also has a significant impact on governments’
35 30 25 20
ability to meet citizen’s on the quality of the services 0 needs 5 and 10 15 20 25 30
our Inquiry heard of. 35
we all rely on. The prevalence of insecure work in primary,
The lack of flexible working arrangements and social support
secondary and tertiary education is undoubtedly impacting
for working parents forces many women into insecure work,
on the quality of teaching and the student experience. The
especially those with caring responsibilities. Most part-time
growth of insecure work in the Commonwealth, State and
jobs in Australia are casual jobs, and 55% of casuals are women
Territory public services has serious implications for public
– as a result 25.5% of all women workers find themselves in
accountability and service capability. And the failure of many
casual employment.33 Industries that predominantly employ
public and private employers to invest in their workforces and
casual and insecure workers such as health care and social
take the low road of cost cutting and risk shifting will, over
assistance and the retail trade are heavily female dominated.
time, have a detrimental impact on productivity.
As a result over a quarter of women employees do not have access to paid leave entitlements, compared to around one
Beyond the impacts on revenue – the CFMEU has estimated
15
fifth of men.34
that sham contracting in the construction industry alone costs
the gender gap in pay equity, superannuation equity and in
0
from negative impacts on their health and well-being.
workplace equity. As casual and insecure jobs are generally not m
do
en
ed
ng
n
ai
Sw
insecure work has the potential to create a labour market that d
Ki
ug rt Po
managerial positions, which are more likely to be held by men, Sp
s nd er
la
ur
ite
Ne
th
bo
Ita
m
is not only segregated between secure and insecure workers, Un
Lu
xe
y
nd Ir e
la
ee Gr
d
an rm
Ge
an Fr
an nl Fi
nm
ar
m iu
De
lg Be
ra st Au
al
more secure working arrangements it only serves to increase
more reliant on pensions and the welfare safety net, and suffer g
have less superannuation to rely on in old age, find themselves
ly
5
ce
arrangements, while a higher proportion of men have access to
ce
If women are predominately employed in insecure
– there are also significant costs to government as individuals
k
the Commonwealth $2.3 billion in lost tax revenue every year32
lia
10
but also entrenches segregation between men and women. Figure 4: Australia compared with the OECD
Women are also more likely to
Percentage of temporary employees 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Australia
experience insecure work because of the need to have flexible working arrangements that allow for caring
Belgium
responsibilities. While this is an issue
Denmark Finland
for both men and women the reality is
France
that women still perform more than
Germany
two thirds of the domestic and caring
Greece
work within families and are far more
Ireland
likely to take extended leave to care
Italy
for dependents.35
Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden United Kingdom 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Graph: Temporary employees as proportion of total employees in selected OECD countries, 2002