A Hunter disability support worker has provided a graphic account of conditions in her sector as the nation's political, business and union leaders gathered in Canberra to start thrashing out solutions to Australia's labour market problems.
The 56-year-old woman, who did not want to be named for fear of repercussions from her employer, said she had been working as a casual for the past four years at a Hunter disability support service.
The woman gets paid $30 an hour to visit clients, many of whom are addicted to drugs. She works six days a week to make ends meet.
"I would love to have a permanent job, and after nearly four years you would think that there'd be potential to go permanent," she said.
"I would just like some stability of sick days and annual leave.
"When you're a casual they're forcing you to go to work sick because, if you don't go to work, you don't get paid."
The two-day national Jobs and Skills Summit wound up at Parliament House on Friday afternoon after Employment Minister Tony Burke revealed plans to allow union members to negotiate enterprise bargaining agreements across multiple employers in a sector.
The Hunter disability worker welcomed the proposal and hoped it would lead to better conditions in her female-dominated industry, including automatic progression from casual to permanent jobs.
"If you've been a casual for so long, the opportunity to go further should be presented to you," she said.
"I'm worn out. I'm tired. I'm tired of not having a social life, not having a family life because every weekend you're having to go to work.
"You're dealing with a lot of ice addicts. It's exhausting. It really is."
She said staff turnover at her workplace was high.
Her past jobs in the aged care industry were permanent but she had seen a shift to casual workforces during her 25-year career.
"There's not many support places put on permanents any more.
"We're all casual. It's just wrong. It just feels like they're not paying us properly.
"It's all about the business and making money. Nothing about the workers."
Mr Burke flagged changes to the Fair Work Act to improve conditions and wages for employees, but major business groups quickly voiced opposition to industry-wide bargaining.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the changes could "risk becoming an agenda to unionise small business and expose it to a greater risk of industrial action".
The government also announced plans to increase permanent migration places to a record 195,000 a year, targeting technology, construction and healthcare workers.
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