The Evolution of Precarious Work in Australia: Flexibility, Fragmentation and Insecurity

Abstract

This chapter analyses the intensification of precarious work in Australia since the 1980s. Through this chapter, I identify four key shifts that have been facilitated by governments in Australia, which have sought to flexibilise and fragment labour and transfer power to business. These shifts include industrial relations and labour market reform throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, which contributed to the proliferation of casual work and part-time work. Next, I examine the emergence of the gig economy in the 2010s which has intensified the flexibilisation of work in Australia and contributed to the exploitation of vulnerable population groups including migrant workers and international students. Following this, I show the Australian Government’s policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic prioritised support for workers in more permanent positions, while using the crisis as a rationale for providing capital with greater flexibility. Finally, I show how automation and digitisation reflect a further shift towards precarity for many workers in a range of industries. Governments and industry lobby groups present these changes as essential for the nation’s economic prosperity, yet each of these shifts heighten risk and uncertainty for workers. Significantly, the evolving precariousness of work in Australia has disproportionately impacted workers who have experienced marginalisation and discrimination in other parts of their life.