35
hour working week and
restricted
overtime campaign
Un(der)employed People's Movement against Poverty Inc.
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New on this site updated 15 November 2002
A quarter our workforce is now casual and the Government is facilitating employers' use of increasing numbers of casual employees. The Howard Government's efforts have seen thousands of secure jobs transformed into insecure ones.
This trend is continuing apace. A report released by the Howard Government in September 2002:- "Agreement making in Australia under the Workplace Relations Act 2000-01", reveals the proportion of enterprise agreements, which provide for the use of casual labour, has rocketed from 43% to 71% in the past two years.
We have an unemployment and an under-employment problem that the market cannot alleviate: When the unemployed, the underemployed, the hidden unemployed and disability pensioners are added together, there are over 1.75 million job-poor Australians; Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that over the last three years, a net 600 middle-income jobs have been created, compared with 462,000 low-pay jobs.
However, nine out of every ten jobs created in the last three years paid less than the average weekly wage.
And if we take no action, the problem will become an intergenerational one because: Three-quarters of the individuals who were unemployed in July 2001 did not have an educational qualification beyond Year 12. 800,000 children are growing up in jobless families. While the risk society has left many Australians unemployed or underemployed and financially insecure, others are facing work intensification – overwork.
So we have a situation where work is polarising.
Look what can be done about it! Click here and be transferred to our Model for Full Employment
Report from Europe (news in August 2002):
On a visit to Europe (Germany) I got introduced to the Amsterdam Treaty and the Lisboa Agreements regarding sustainable developments in the EU to achieve full employment. The 35 hour week and restricted overtime is one of the measures implemented by European countries as part of family friendly workplace policies.
The program is amazing, there is funding for advocacy groups, regional develoment, initiatives to get businesses going and innovative training programs. Denmark has run out of Danish unemployed people and their reform program is now focusing on immigrants, France's programs (35hour week) have stalled somewhat too, with critique from the left and blue collar workers, who insist that their wages are frozen and they cannot advance themselves financially. Apparently only the white collar worker have benefitted.
Every year each European country has to submit its report about the success of their policies based on the Amsterdam Treaty and previous year's recommendation of the Council of Social and Economic Justice.
At this time Germany is discussing the proposals of the Hartz Commission, a comprehensive proposal to address the unemployment issue and reform the provisions of service. Some of the proposals sound very similar to what we have here. But many others make much more sense than any of our politicians have ever come up with on this topic.
We suggest that we can learn from the European model. And therefore we have decided to take the best of everything, including our own ideas, and develop a comprehensive model for employment creation.
As we do not have the resources to model growth and impact of policies, we leave that to other people. Therefore feel free to take any idee away with you but let is know what you have done with it.
You can also add ideas to the model. On every page or element of the model is an opportunity to comment and add you idea. If you do not find a suitable place to add on and believe elements are missing, simply click on any comment box and send us your opinion.
Monika Baker, Secretary UPM against Poverty Inc., Convener of the ANOU
: a new article from Ken O'Hara and the Unemployed Networking Group Updated 28 April 2002
What we are about
This is a web site dedicated to the campaign for full employment through introduction of the 35 hour week and restriction of overtime.
UPM against Poverty Inc. has chosen to promote the campaign for lesser hours and restricted overtime. We are especially concerned about the amount of unpaid overtime in the workforce. Last year (2001) the amount of unpaid overtime worked exceeded the amount of hours all unemployed people would have been available to work.
In order to distribute employment opportunities more evenly we believe that the introduction of the 35 hour week and restricted overtime form a first step. We know that it is not enough to address the severe barriers long term unemployed people face.
Real assistance in form of (re-)training, paid work experience and mentor programs need to go hand in hand with a humane income security system for those temporarily out of work.
The current punitive system of Mutual Obligation causes mental health problems, insecurity and financial hardship.
We ask for solidarity, we all need a job!
We ask for support in spreading the message!
And we ask all unions to take a look at the pros and cons which we have collected here on this web page.
Most of the collected materials have come from Europe and the articles are still available on the net.
You will find longer journal articles by double clicking on the link called Articles on the side bar of this page and consequently at the bottom of all other pages.
Most of the links will take you to the web site the article is published on. To get back to this site you will need to use the back button on your web browser.
In order to facilitate discussion we have set up a mailing list to which you can contribute as soon as you have enrolled.
Cartoon by Simon Kneebone, appeared in Australian Options - the left magazine from SA
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