Senate Inquiry into Job Security

At the end of last year, the Senate Select Committee on Job Security announced it would be holding an inquiry and called for submissions by Wednesday 31 March 2021.

Led by Senator Tony Sheldon as Chair (with Senator Matthew Canavan as Deputy Chair) the Committee is due to table its final report on 30 November 2021.

The Committee has announced that it intends to hold hearings in capital cities and regional areas across Australia in 2021, and will inquire into and report on, the impact of insecure or precarious employment on the economy, wages, social cohesion and workplace rights and conditions.

NTEU is in the process of finalising a submission to the inquiry, focusing on insecure employment in higher education. The Union also hosted an online forum, for those who are and have been employed insecurely in higher education, to determine how we can best tackle the flood of insecure employment in our sector. NTEU has also sent out a survey to the forum participants asking if they want to share their experience of insecure employment and have it included in our submission. We hope to make it clear that, with only one out of three jobs in higher education permanent, the flood of insecure employment is having a detrimental impact not only for our sector, but on the lives of many of those who work within in.

For more information on the inquiry contact the NTEU Policy and Research Unit at policy@nteu.org.au, or visit www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_ Business/Committees/Senate/Job_ Security/JobSecurity