17 February 2021
No access to paid sick leave and insecure working conditions are putting Australians at greater risk of COVID-19 infection, according to a submission by epidemiologists from the Australian National University in response to the Morrison Government’s proposed IR Omnibus Bill, the ACTU said in a press release.
The public health experts from ANU recommend removing any provisions from the Bill that promotes insecure work, which would in turn create an immediate and severe health threat to the Australian people.
The submission outlines how highly at-risk workers in insecure jobs without paid sick leave will not be able to self-isolate or quarantine as needed while still earning a wage to support themselves and their family. Insecure work leads many to go to work out of necessity – this system is fundamentally flawed.
The growing rate of insecure work, and the refusal of the Morrison Government to address it is a danger to the economy, and a public health risk to all Australians, the ACTU said.
ACTU President Michele O’Neil said workers “need to know they can get tested and isolate at home as required, while still being able to put food on the table for their families.
“The people who do work that can’t be done from home are our essential workers, and they’ve been on the frontline of this pandemic the whole time. They deserve secure jobs and peace of mind,’’ she said.
At a Senate Inquiry into the Omnibus Bill in Adelaide last week, the ANMF, which opposes the Bill, outlined how the proposed legislation would “punish” health and aged care workers.
“We’ve got 80% of our people in the private sector working either part-time or casual shifts. They are predominantly female, with 90% of our industry being female dominated,’’ ANMF (SA Branch) Director, Operations & Strategy, Rob Bonner told the Inquiry.
“There are low wages. A huge number in private sector are award reliant. Bargaining is grinding to a halt under the current scheme. It’s extremely hard to get new deals in aged care. There are those who are getting really low wage outcomes, and we can’t achieve anymore.”
One ANMF (SA Branch) member was asked at the Inquiry what she would say to the Prime Minister, if given the opportunity, about how the legislation rewards the hard work shown by nurses, midwives and carers throughout the pandemic. “I would say that it’s a real kick in the guts. Other people got to stay home and work from home and not have the risk of taking this infectious disease home to their families,’’ she said.
“That is something real we had to prepare for. I had to prepare my husband and my kids and say, ‘If there is an outbreak, I am not coming home to give it to you. Mum has to stay somewhere else’. That was a real fear we had to face, and we still showed up.
“Cutting shifts and making life harder for us when we are going to have to put in that extra effort and when it does affect our residential aged care facilities, that’s the time when everyone has to stand up. I want all the other nurses to stand up at that time, and I would hope that we would be rewarded for doing so.”