Racing to the bottom

The Howard Government is building a low paid, insecure 
workforce according to official statistics that show no full-time 
jobs were created in Australia, last month.

The ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) jobs data, released 
this week, confirmed peak union body ACTU research showing a 
trend to low paid work.

The data revealed that another 21,600 part time jobs came into 
the economy while no extra full-time positions were created.

Twenty eight percent of the workforce is officially part time or 
casual at a time when ACTU figures say more than 600,000 part 
timers are looking for longer hours.

"Low-pay less secure jobs and 'work till you drop' are the major 
trends in the Australian job market", ACTU President, Sharan 
Burrow, said. 

"These figures confirm the need for a change in direction from 
the Federal Government."

The official figures tally with the ACTU's analysis of a surge in 
low paid work. Its figures show that two out of every three jobs 
created since the last election carry gross wages of less than 
$600 a week.

The ACTU says that while hundreds of thousands are clamouring for 
increased hours, at the other end of the scale more than one 
million Australians are doing unpaid overtime — up nearly 25 
percent on the 1996 figure.

Economic analysts suggest a number of factors, including a 
sustained attack on the trade union movement since 1996, have 
helped depress Australian wages.