In a move that has generated a lot of discussion, the Victorian government is trialling paid sick leave for casual workers.
The trial program has been developed in response to the spread of coronavirus in insecure workplaces during Melbourneβs second wave.
Set to begin in early 2022 with consultation opening this month, the Secure Work Pilot Scheme will provide up to five days of government funded sick or carerβs leave, at minimum wage rates, to workers in high-risk industries including aged care staff, cleaners, supermarket workers, hospitality workers and security guards.
βWhen people have nothing to fall back on, they make a choice between the safety of their workmates and feeding their family,β Victorian Premier Daniel AndrewsΒ said in a statement. βThe ultimate decision they make isnβt wrongβwhatβs wrong is theyβre forced to make it at all.
βThis isnβt going to solve the problem of insecure work overnight but someone has to put their hand up and say weβre going to take this out of the too hard basket and do something about itβand thatβs exactly what weβre doing.β
Treasurer and Minister for Industrial Relations Tim Pallas said: βWorkers staying on the job when theyβre sick is bad for businessβfor the rest of your staff and for your customers. We believe this scheme will benefit businesses and workers right across Victoria.β
Casual and insecure workers in eligible sectors will be invited to pre-register for the scheme, providing their contact details and information about their employment so that applications can be fast-tracked if they need to apply for payments.Β An education campaign will also be rolled out to ensure eligible workers are aware of the support available when they need sick or carerβs pay.
TheΒ Victorian Budget 2020/21Β will provide $5 million for consultation on the design of the pilot scheme to work through issues including documentation required to support payment applications and protections for workers who apply to access the scheme.
While any future ongoing scheme would be subject to an industry levy, the pilot scheme will be fully funded by the Victorian Government at no cost to business.
The Victorian Governmentβs COVID-19 Test Isolation Payment and the Commonwealthβs Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment for people who are required to isolate after a positive diagnosis or quarantine as a close contact remain available.
While many casual workers welcomed the news, The Australian Industry Group said the scheme is βdeeply flawedβ.
βCasuals receive a 25 per cent casual loading in lieu of sick leave and carerβs leave entitlement, and therefore providing a separate entitlement would be βdouble-dippingβ,β CEO Innes Willox said.
βThe levy would, in effect, be a tax on employment and would be another deterrent to employers investing in Victoria.
βThis flawed proposal needs to be abandoned.β
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