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Recent surveys show many Australians in work are working longer hours than ever before. Work figures show that on average those in work do a 41 hour week. Many work 50 hours or more. Bosses are abusing and taking advantage of workers, expecting them to work unpaid overtime, using the spectre of globalisation and downsizing, or mass retrenchments as a threat; getting people to work harder in the name of productivity instead of having more staff (‘A 38 hour week – you must be joking’ SH 19.11.00) A recent Morgan & Banks survey found one third of full time workers now work 50 – 59 hours a week, up from one fifth five years ago. Prof Ron McCallum (Syd U, ACIRRT) says techno-logy such as e-mail means requests for immediate action are easier. “If it means working longer to get that immediate answer .. then you work longer”. The result he says, is “our best and brightest are working very hard and going back to their dormitory suburbs, which they don’t see in daylight and where they don’t participate in community activities. They have no idea what’s happening in their communities or their kids’ schools’ (ibid). There is a strong basis for this hard work and insecurity when it is seen that workers over 50 years who are retrenched are virtually forced into early retirement, and women who are retrenched are more likely driven from the workforce (‘Men more likely to be retrenched’ AFR 19.10.00). One of the side effects is that fear of losing their jobs is making thousands of Australians cancel holidays and save annual leave as a safety net for the future. A recent tourism survey found 40% of people took no accrued annual leave in 1999 and another 43% took only part of it. Of course, casual workers, most of whom are women, don’t get leave at all. The result is people ‘have forgotten the role of holidays in a balanced lifestyle’ so are no longer contributing to regional economies through tourism (‘We’re too worried to take a break’ SMH ?.11.00) The decade of prosperity has not been good news for all, or most of the workforce – most Australians’ real wages slid backwards from the late 80s. Those on average incomes did not regain their 1985 standard till 1995. The poorest 10% of wage earners are still earning less than they did in 1985. On the other hand the top 1% of salary earners were, on average, 30% better off in 1999 than they were in 1985 (ABS survey, August 2000) While economic growth has apparently increased employment, much of it is part-time and casual. Unemployment has been consistently understated, and risen in much of Australia in the last 10 years. The NIEIR estimates current unemployment is 9.4%, not 6% as the Federal government claims. ABS labour force data was corrupted by shifting unemployment benefit recipients onto disability pensions; moving under 25s onto ‘youth allowance’; a tightened work test and a weakened means test, so those with minimal participation while on the dole are no longer counted as unemployed (‘Report urges action over real jobless rate of 9.4pc’ AFR 4.12.000. No wonder BHP workers in Wollongong recently revolted when management told them that imminent retrenchments would have a positive effect on their lives! ('‘Look on the bright side, workers told’ DT ?.11.00).
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