, the rate of casualisation has barely changed in a generation and “is 4.8 percentage points below the peak of 27.6 per cent in 2003”.
That is not to say there are not emerging issues in labour market regulation. It is just that some trade unions and Labor seem stuck in a time warp wanting to return to the collective bargaining techniques suited more to large-scale industrial employers than our modern and diverse economy., I had some hope that we would tackle issues around the emergence of the “gig” economy. There is no doubt that our industrial relations system was not built for the likes of Uber and Amazon Flex.
Labor seems to suggest that it could eradicate all aspects of casual employment when that is not what most Uber drivers that I talk to want. Uber drivers tend to like the flexibility of working when they want to and using multiple apps . The lesson here is that solutions to new forms of work will not be found by litigating the battles of the general strikes of the past. Through this inquiry I did not find evil bosses or lazy workers. There was simply people trying to navigate a new way of providing goods and services without a clear established legal framework.