THE AUSTRALIAN Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has released a new report that shows Australia is at risk of becoming an ‘Americanised society’ of working poor if people are not given a pay rise.
Rising inequality is forcing working people into poverty, with the number of workers who are now on minimum or ‘award’ wages rocketing a staggering eight per cent in six years to 2016. The ACTU produced this report because, while the Turnbull government continues to throw its support behind the big corporations and a group of small elites, Australian workers and families are struggling to pay the bills. And while many Australians are struggling to pay the bills, the Turnbull government is attacking the unions.
Key stats from report:
• Inequality is greater than at any time in the last 70 years;
• Income inequality is bad but wealth inequality is worse. The top ten richest Australians have over $77 billion dollars between them;
• Number of workers on minimum award rates has shot up in the last few years – from 15.2% in 2010 to 23.9% in 2016;
• Workers’ share of national income is at its lowest level in over 50 years.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus stated: ‘This report shows that both wealth and income inequality are a problem in Australia. There are two ways the Turnbull government can act to turn around inequality – make sure everyone pays their fair share of tax and act so working people have strong enough rights at work to get decent pay rises and secure jobs.
‘But instead the Turnbull government is going in the opposite direction. Every day they think up new ways to hurt working people and weaken their rights while they are giving corporations $65 billion in tax cuts.
‘These are the same failed policies that have caused inequality in the first place. Pay rises are at record lows, workers are getting a record low share of national income, jobs are being casualised, penalty rates cut and wage theft is a business model. ‘Instead of addressing inequality as their priority, Malcolm Turnbull and Michaelia Cash are obsessed with attacking unions, the very people who are speaking out about inequality and campaigning to turn it around. Australian Unions are campaigning to change the rules for working people so they have better and stronger rights at work.’
Inequality in Australia starts with Rising Inequality: An Australian Reality
It states: ‘Income inequalities are greater than at any time in the last 70 years. Small elites have amassed vast fortunes and massive political power. While for the vast majority of people, living standards have declined and job security has disappeared.
‘Inequality is the challenge of our time. If we don’t change course, Australia will be a fully Americanised society of high inequality and dead end jobs, with long working hours, no holidays, zero job security and poverty pay levels. These are the economic conditions that breed high levels of crime, discrimination against minorities and a broad range of social problems.
‘Australia must not go any further down this path. Instead we must return to being a country in which families on a normal income can afford to buy a home, provide a good education for their kids and have a decent standard of living. Societies that pay their workers fairly and provide job security tend to have low crime levels, less social problems and are more inclusive.
‘Treasurer Scott Morrison denied inequality is a problem. However the facts are clear. The distribution of income throughout society is becoming more unequal. Since the mid-1990s income inequality in Australia has been getting worse. Despite a blip just after the Global Financial Crisis, when share prices fell for a short period and those rich enough to make lots of income through their investments took a hit, it is clear that the general trend has been towards widening income inequality.
‘Income inequality is definitely rising in Australia and (Treasurer) Scott Morrison’s recent statements on this topic confirms his lack of economic and statistical knowledge. The fact that our government attempts to pretend that inequality is not a problem while the traditionally conservative global economic institutions, such as the OECD and the IMF, argue that rising inequality is among the most pressing issues of our time, demonstrates that our government is desperate and completely out of touch with reality.’
Recent arguments have focused on income inequality. Wealth inequality is worse
‘Due to very rapid increases in the value of homes, investment properties, shares and other assets held by the rich, wealth inequality has increased even more sharply than income inequality.
‘It is common among the wealthy elite in Australia to have a multi-million dollar home, several investment properties, and a large portfolio of shares, bonds and other assets. At the other end of the income spectrum many young Australian’s are struggling to pay rent and many have been forced to move back in with their parents. They have very little chance of getting into the housing market.
‘Wealth and income inequality are related. The distribution of income has implications for the distribution of wealth and vice versa. High incomes enable the accumulation of large wealth holdings on the one hand, while large wealth holdings generate high incomes. For the richest and poorest 20 per cent of the population between 2004 and 2014, both groups had an increase in their real incomes during the decade, but the incomes of the rich group rose by almost double that of the poor group.
‘The real net wealth of the rich group jumps by around 38% while that of the poor group increased by only around 4%. The gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” become a great chasm in this decade.’
Meanwhile, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has launched a new campaign to Change the Rules for Working Women & Families, with new survey results showing 85 per cent of working Australians also have significant family caring and/or parenting responsibilities.
More than 5,400 Australians responded to the survey and have clearly told us that life is not all about working. Participants said they need time to care for children or family members with a disability, medical condition, mental illness or an aging parent or other family member.
Most working people, 60 per cent, have never asked for reduced hours to assist with juggling family caring and work, with many worried about their job security and many suggesting that their workplace management and culture does not support flexible work.
The ACTU says that all employees should be entitled to reduced or part-time working hours when they have caring and parenting responsibilities, on a temporary basis, and go back to their role and previous hours when caring responsibilities reduce or cease. The FWC will hear the case in December.
Key survey findings:
• Almost 85% of Australian workers have or have had a caring role;
• 65% had cared for a child of school age or younger;
• 27% had cared for someone frail or aged;
• 25% had cared for someone with a medical condition
• 14% had cared for someone with a mental illness;
• Almost 40% of workers have asked their employer for reduced hours for caring and almost a quarter of these had been knocked back;
• Almost one in two workers need access to reduced hours for caring;
• Women are almost twice as likely to ask for reduced hours for caring;
• Employers are 50% more likely to reject a male worker’s request for reduced hours;
• Inflexible workplace culture is the reason most cited for workers not asking for reduced hours to care for a family member.
ACTU President Ged Kearney said: ‘Australia is a nation of working carers, with 85 per cent of working people juggling caring and work responsibilities. We are a country of working people who value our loved ones more than anything else, but often we are stopped from providing the care needed because our workplace laws and rules have not kept up with modern life.
‘This new survey shows us families are under constant pressure from the responsibility of maintaining secure employment and the reality of looking after children, ageing parents or a loved one with an illness.
‘Many of the survey respondents said their workplace culture was not flexible and others said they did not ask their employer for reduced working hours because they feared they would get sacked. This is the disgraceful reality of our modern workplaces.
‘While women still carry the lion’s share of the burden of caring, men want reduced hours but are 50 per cent more likely to get knocked back when they do ask. What is clear from the survey is that our workplace laws have not kept up with the realities of working Australians’ lives.
‘The ACTU wants a new right for all Australian workers, especially women who predominantly carry the caring load, to have the right to part-time or reduced hours temporarily while they have important family caring responsibilities.’
