They’ll try and take every bit of conditions that the miners have won and the Australian people only get the holes in the ground.” Our coal workers and communities deserve so much more than the holes in the ground. [...] BHP is currently the biggest company on the ASX, with Rio Tinto the third biggest, and Fortescue being the tenth biggest stock.20 Notwithstanding the profitability and growth of the mining sector/firms over this period, there continues to be stratagies adopted by mining companies that erode the pay and conditions of those who form the backbone of the industry and indirectly impact on the local com. [...] 8 Part 2: The effect of labour-hire practices on miners’ wages The term ‘labour-hire’ began to come to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s, although the practice and use of agencies and companies specialising in the supply and provision of workers to client organisations has been around since the 1950s.21 The current form of labour hire in Australia can be traced to several main forerunners: t. [...] Compared to other OECD countries, Australia’s rate of casualisation is one of the highest.29 The increase in the proportion of casual employees is mirrored by the steady decline in the proportion of full-time equivalent employees to the total employment population from 84 per cent in 1979 to 68 percent in 2018.30 This casualisation is also related to what is colloquially referred to as the ‘gig ec. [...] The gig economy refers to the technology-driven, digitally enabled transformation of work organisation and is related to broader labour market trends including a rise in precarity, the decoupling of paid work from employment, and the increasing fragmentation of tasks and responsibilities within both supply chains and jobs in general.31 The growth of the gig economy, characterised by a deepening re.
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- 22
- Published in
- Australia
