Despite the boom times in Australia which has finally peaked, a significant proportion of working Australians do not have permanent full-time positions. This is because both sides of politics have freed-up the hiring contract between employers and employees.
The claim that bank holiday and annual leave pay is included in the casual rate is rubbish. People are hired for a per hour fee. No moneys are set aside for rest day payment. Part-time employees can be called in to work at any time of the day or night.
Even in management the market is distorted. Tests to find the "ideal" personality to do the job have never been tested in the real world. They have been written by university people who teach and must write a certain number of papers for "respected" journals.
Governments are reducing employment in the public sector. When they have to get the work done in future by the private sector the real cost will become apparent. While contractors offering specific skills do well, many are not making a profit. Many private contractors, for example truck drivers, run at a loss. As they work, their debt to the banks increases. Ultimately they may have to sell their homes to clear their debt. Furthermore, they have to take drugs to stay awake because they drive day and night. In effect they are forced to break the law.
Today, production runs are getting shorter. This is due to improved production-line machinery. If the line is run for a few years the world market can be flooded. Restricting production by monopolies becomes a genuine profit maximizing policy.
The future job market looks spasmodic and uncertain. The forced superannuation policy of government will break down as the newly unemployed take early payments from their retirement fund to survive in the present.
Conservation