Casual chaos

So the new Australian Council of Trade Unions chief Ged Kearney wants to “open a dialogue” with the state and federal governments and employers on the idea of making casual workers permanent staff after 12 months.

Kearney has also floated the idea of getting governments to favour companies with highly permanent workforces when they award contracts.

Good luck – the union will not find anyone to listen to these silly proposals, which appear to be very similar to some of the themes in the business platform that the Greens took to the last election.

Indeed, the fact that the unions are even trying this one is more than a little bemusing.

While the ideological stand against what they see as the casualisation of the Australian workforce may be understandable, the idea that governments of any persuasion would even consider removing one of the key tools for building a flexible workforce is ridiculous.

As business groups including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Restaurant & Catering Australia and the National Retail Association have pointed out, such a move could badly damage many businesses in heavily casual-reliant sectors – think hospitality, tourism and retail.

The last 12 months have shown why these industries need the flexibility that casual staff bring. Big movements in consumer confidence, currency fluctuations, seasonal issues, even weather patterns – all of these changes mean employers need to be able to increase and decrease their staffing costs at a moment’s notice.

It’s crucial for keeping employers viable and keeping all their staff – casual and permanent alike – in jobs.