Casual staff win right to ask for permanent work

Casual workers have won the right to demand a permanent full-time or part-time job after 12 months under a new Fair Work Commission ruling.

But employers will still have the right to refuse the request if the change would substantially alter the worker’s hours to accommodate them as a permanent staff member.

Loco Division Secretary Bob Hayden agrees with AMWU national president Andrew Dettmer’s comments that the commission’s decision was “a kick in the guts for ordinary workers trying to make ends meet in an uncertain employment market,” and that “employers are using the current system to exploit vulnerable casual workers and keep them working under insecure employment arrangements.”

Read more in the Sydney Morning Herald