Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
•
the Australian Government look to directives such as the recently
published directive from the European Union on Working
Conditions for Temporary Workers (Storrie 2002) to improve
working conditions for casual workers in Australia. This directive
intends that temporary workers will no longer be subject to
discrimination due to their employment contract. Consequently
temporary workers in EU member states will have the right not to be
treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees.
These are just some of the suggestions that may make it possible to
support both the economy and the labour force in relation to the multiple
challenges of globalisation and sustainability.
In summary, of course it is impossible to predict the future. However, as
the UK study on the future of work suggests (TUC Congress 2000), if some-
thing has not happened over the past 20 years, either in the UK or overseas,
then we need to ask why it should happen over the next 20 years. Although it
is evident that we live in a post-industrial age where the nature of work and
careers is rapidly changing, we argue for long-term strategies because the
social and economic consequences of changes in the world of work require
careful, ongoing scrutiny by academics, employers and governments if more
equitable and shared work options are to be available for the Australian
majority of the future. While Australia may never see a situation where full
employment is a prospect, the current state of affairs where there is growing
inequality in the workplace is not sustainable either. Hence, urgent attention
is required to redress the issues discussed throughout this chapter in relation
to fairness, equity and choice. In other words, we need to epitomise the
culture that Australia is famous for - giving a fair go to all.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2002).
Labour Force Australia
. Catalogue No.
6203.0, ABS, Canberra.
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). (2003).
Future of Work: Fairness in the
Workplace
. http://www.actu.asn.au/public/futurework/workfairness.html
Borland, J., Gregory, B. & Sheehan, P. (Eds). (2001).
Work Rich, Work Poor: Technology
and Economic Change in Australia
. Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria
University, Melbourne.
Bridges, W. (1995).
Jobshift: How to Prosper in a Workplace without Jobs
. Allen & Unwin, St
Leonards, NSW.
Broom, D. (2003). In Search of Sustainability Conference. ANU, 14 November 2003.
Cappelli, P. (1999). Career jobs are dead.
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