SBS Italian news, with a slower pace. This is Slow Italian, Fast Learning, the very best of the week’s news, read at a slower pace, with Italian and English text available.
ITALIANO
Dal primo ottobre, i dipendenti occasionali che hanno lavorato regolarmente per almeno un anno hanno il diritto di chiedere ai loro datori di lavoro contratti a tempo indeterminato.
Lo stabilisce la sentenza dello scorso anno del Fair Work Ombudsman, che specifica che le persone che lavorano come dipendenti occasionali regolari hanno il diritto di chiedere che il loro impiego sia convertito a tempo pieno o part time.
Per impiegato occasionale regolare si intende una persona che abbia svolto un determinato numero di ore su base continuativa per almeno 12 mesi.
Per ottenere che l'impiego sia convertito a tempo pieno, il dipendente deve aver lavorato una media di 38 o più ore la settimana nel corso dell'anno; se le ore svolte sono inferiori, si può comunque richiedere un contratto regolare part time.
I sindacati hanno accolto con favore le modifiche apportate, affermando che restituiscono i diritti a molti lavoratori.
Michelle O'Neill, presidente dell'Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) ritiene che ogni lavoratore debba avere diritto ad un impiego sicuro.
"Many unions are already doing this every day, all over Australia, in all sorts of industries, assisting workers (to) move into permanent, full-time and secure employment, which is what most workers want. I mean, some people will say, 'No, I want to stay as a casual.' This doesn't oblige you to convert to permanent if you want to stay as a casual. But the majority of workers that we find and the majority of union members are really looking for the security of permanent employment. And this is a very important change."
Ai datori di lavoro vengono comunque garantite alcune protezioni: possono, ad esempio, respingere la richiesta di regolarizzazione di un dipendente se ciò dovesse richiedere un aggiustamento significativo alle sue ore, se la posizione cessasse di esistere, o se il numero di ore richieste per la posizione diminuirà entro 12 mesi.
Secondo Michelle O'Neill, anche le aziende beneficeranno dell'aumento del numero di personale fisso.
"The investment you make, in terms of giving people training and support to learn the job, is going to pay off, because the workers are more likely to stay in your employment. It also is really important for morale. Insecurity is a terrible thing, so not knowing whether you're going to have a job tomorrow or next week really affects the whole culture of a workplace and how people feel about working there. So there's many benefits for employers and businesses as well to having more permanent, secure employment."
Secondo Michelle O'Neill, tuttavia, nonostante questo passo avanti resta ancora molta strada da fare per garantire un lavoro sicuro ad ogni australiano.
"Every worker should have the right to be able to accrue leave entitlements, have the security of knowing that their job's there in the future and they can't be easily gotten rid of. So this is an important change to introduce it into these 70 awards. But we actually want to see something that covers every worker and a clear definition put into the Fair Work Act."
INGLESE
Casual employees who have worked regular hours for at least a year now have the right to ask their employers for permanent contracts.
Last year's ruling from the Fair Work Ombudsman, which came into effect on Monday, Oct 1, says people working as regular casual employees are entitled to request their employment be converted to full-time or part-time.
A regular casual employee is someone who has worked a pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least 12 months.
For full-time work, that would be working an average of 38 hours or more per week across the year.
A regular casual employee who works fewer than 38 hours on average per week could request permanent part-time.
Unions have welcomed the changes to the 70 award brackets, saying it gives the rights back to many workers.
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Michelle O'Neill says every employee should be able to have secure work.
"Many unions are already doing this every day, all over Australia, in all sorts of industries, assisting workers (to) move into permanent, full-time and secure employment, which is what most workers want. I mean, some people will say, 'No, I want to stay as a casual.' This doesn't oblige you to convert to permanent if you want to stay as a casual. But the majority of workers that we find and the majority of union members are really looking for the security of permanent employment. And this is a very important change."
There are protections for employers.
Bosses are reasonably allowed to reject a request if it would require a significant adjustment to the employee's hours, if the employee's position will cease to exist, or if the number of hours required for the position will decline within 12 months.
Ms O'Neill says companies would also benefit from more permanent employees.
"The investment you make, in terms of giving people training and support to learn the job, is going to pay off, because the workers are more likely to stay in your employment. It also is really important for morale. Insecurity is a terrible thing, so not knowing whether you're going to have a job tomorrow or next week really affects the whole culture of a workplace and how people feel about working there. So there's many benefits for employers and businesses as well to having more permanent, secure employment."
Michelle O'Neill from the ACTU says there is still more work to be done to ensure secure work becomes the norm in Australia.
"Every worker should have the right to be able to accrue leave entitlements, have the security of knowing that their job's there in the future and they can't be easily gotten rid of. So this is an important change to introduce it into these 70 awards. But we actually want to see something that covers every worker and a clear definition put into the Fair Work Act."
Report by Ron Sutton
