News, media releases, opinions and articles from the Centre for Future Work.
The great (gendered) resignation is not what you think. It’s worse
The great resignation is apparently upon us — workers are walking away from bad jobs. But in Australia, the exodus of women from the workforce says more about structural barriers than worker empowerment. Have you heard? The so-called great resignation is afoot. A world where an empowered workforce say “no” to bad bosses and a…
Eight free weeks: Time stolen from employees skyrockets during COVID
The number of hours stolen from Australians by employers has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the average employee now providing eight full-time weeks of free work per year.
Key findings:
The average employed Australian is performing 6.13 hours of unpaid work each week in 2021, up f…
What Next for Casual Work? Professor Andrew Stewart webinar recording
Casual employment has dominated Australia’s labour market recovery from COVID-19. And the right of employers to hire staff on a casual basis in almost any role they choose – including jobs that on their face appear have permanent characteristics – seems to have been cemented by recent amendments to the Fair Work Act, and by…
Active Policy Measures Needed to Stop Decline of Journalism
The media and information industries have lost some 60,000 jobs in Australia over the last 15 years. With almost half of those jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research shows active policy supports are urgently needed to stabilise and protect the ‘public good’ function of journalism.
K…
Insecure Workers Have Been the ‘Shock Troops’ of the COVID-19 Pandemic: New Report
New research from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work confirms that workers in casual and insecure jobs have borne the lion’s share of job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Findings:
Since May, workers in casual and part-time jobs have suffered over 70% of job losses from rene…
Fair Pay Agreements: How Workers in NZ Are Getting Their Share
Across the ditch, the Ardern government in New Zealand is undertaking an ambitious and multi-dimensional effort to address low wages, inequality, and poor job quality. NZ unions have just won the introduction of Fair Pay Agreements, planned for implementation in 2022. FPAs will allow working people to bargain collectively across sectors and start to correct the income…