Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
600
500
400
300
200
100
Full Time
Permanent
0
Full Time
Casual
Part Time
Permanent
Part Time
Casual
-100
Type of job
Figure 10.1
Composition of job growth, 1990 to 2000 (change in thousand persons).
Source: Borland, Gregory and Sheehan (2001).
new about the current developments is the growing perception of employ-
ment insecurity, the collapse of large organisations (e.g. HIH Insurance,
Ansett, OneTel), the disappearance of a job for life, the increasing ambiguity
surrounding the legal status of many employment arrangements and the
expectation that job content and hours are less predictable or controllable
than in the past. Also, there are now many more workers who have to inte-
grate work into other activities, especially education and caring activities.
Workers appear to be confronted with uncertainty over jobs (tenure, con-
tent, control, hours and so on), have less recourse to collective representa-
tion and collective action, and are under relentless pressure to adapt and be
more productive (ACTU 2003). Despite sustained growth in the economy
over the past decade, unemployment and underemployment persist and the
rewards from growth are very unevenly distributed across the workforce.
Table 10.2 outlines some of the changes to the institutions associated with
work and the rewards and conditions of work that have occurred over the
past decade.
In general, Table 10.2 indicates that in Australia we have a situation
where employees are working harder than ever as a result of management
