Six in ten Australians say they are under more financial pressure than five years ago and almost 60 per cent of working people say they are having more trouble balancing work and family. More than 70 per cent of people also believe that a reduction in government responsibility in basic areas such as health, education and job creation under John Howard has made life harder. The ACTU's application for parental leave for Australia's two million casual workers is a good example of the changes that are needed to reintroduce fairness to the workplace. Limit working hours Fifty-seven per cent of Australians also agree that there should be a limit on the number of hours that anyone should have to work in a week. The ACTU and its affiliates are running a test case to determine guidelines for reasonable hours of work in industrial awards.
Employees are concerned and uncertain about the future of their jobs.
Australians are also worried about the Government's push towards individual contracts. More that 80 per cent believe that employees are more protected when they join together to negotiate for wages and conditions. And that's not just in metropolitan areas - 95 per cent of National Party voters supported the principles of collective bargaining. Communities look to our federal Government for solutions to these problems. To encourage debate about these issues, the ACTU and unions have released Our Future at Work - an agenda for fairness that includes improvements in working hours, the restoration of powers to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, and better rights for women, young people and casual workers.