August 2, 2021
Mining communities keep being told there aren’t many casuals in mining. Employers have been claiming absurdly low percentages to claim that casualisation is not a problem in mining.
However, new data kept secret by the Federal Government shows the growth of casual work in mining and illustrates why employers embrace the model – they are cheaper.
There are three reasons why the estimates being shoped around by the employer lobbyists are wrong:
Labour hire companies are not included in official employment data on the mining industry, therefore the data doesn’t capture casuals employed through labour hire – which is how most casuals are employed.
The survey sample used by the ABS in relation to the coal mining industry is so small that it is subject to fluctuation and a wide margin of error.
The dataset that gives the fullest picture of what is happening with casuals in the industry – produced by the Coal Mining Industry Long Service Leave Corporation – has been suppressed by the Federal Government.
Download our Fact Sheet to get a closer look at how those three factors misrepresent the data and unfairly impact workers in the mining industry.