Kerry Smith
The proportion of Australian workers on low pay is increasing and many of them are not protected from financial distress by living in dual income households or receiving welfare benefits, according to new research.
Two studies for the Low Pay Project by Dr Barbara Pocock of the Centre for Work and Life at the University of South Australia and Dr John Buchanan of the Workplace Research Centre (formerly ACIRRT) at the University of Sydney were released at a seminar in Melbourne on April 5.
Living Low Paid: Some Experiences of Australian Childcare Workers and Cleaners by Helen Masterman-Smith, Robyn May and Barbara Pocock was supported by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union, SA Unions, Unions NSW and the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
The study of 41 cleaners and child-care workers disputed three widespread myths about the working poor: that they are "cushioned" by living in households with other earners; that they can supplement their income with second jobs or welfare; and that low-paid work is a stepping stone to a better job.
"Where these workers were living especially in a couple relationship, where they were in their twenties, and where they didn't have children and they had good health, there was a protective effect of a second income. But that's not the case by any means for all of those in such households. In our study, we had couples for whom income sharing was not a reality — they kept their incomes separate and when they were older, and especially if they had children, the second income was not a protection", Pocock said.
She went on to argue that the "stepping stone" theory was a "sad deception", with many older low-paid workers in particular unable to find a higher-paid job, even if they had trade skills. Many working poor already had two jobs, or were unable to find extra work due to unpredictable hours of employment. Many low-paid workers also expressed a strong reluctance to take welfare benefits.
Pocock warned that changes under the Work Choices laws could further undermine workers' ability to control their hours of employment, making it harder for low-paid workers to juggle a second job.
The children of working-poor households also experienced significant consequences of financial distress through social isolation and lack of involvement in discretionary educational activities.
Buchanan said his quantitative study found the proportion of low-paid jobs in Australia (using the OECD definition of two-thirds of median earnings, currently around $14 an hour or $533 a week) had increased "moderately" compared to larger rises in the United States and the United Kingdom. Using hourly rates, the increase between 1989 and 2001 was from 10.7% to 12.7% of all jobs. Using weekly rates, taking account of the high proportion of part-time jobs, the increase between 1990 and 2005 was from 24.4% to 27.6%.
The research estimates the number of working poor in Australia at between 1.2 and 1.8 million employees, concentrated in the services sectors of hospitality, retail and health and community services.
Buchanan also highlighted the high degree to which low-paid workers rely on awards (52% for those earning less than $500 a week) and warned that Work Choices is "set to unravel the two institutions that protected the low paid citizen: unions and the tribunals".
[Living Low Paid: Some Experiences of Australian Childcare Workers and Cleaners and Low paid employment — a statistical profile can be downloaded at .]
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, April 26, 2006.
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