Fancy earning $11.59 less than your workmates?

New research is in. And it’s not good.

Across the board, casual workers earn $11.59 less per hour than permanent workers. That’s a pay gap of 28.6 per cent.

It’s a discrepancy that leaves up to 2.6 million workers across Australia falling behind. And half of these casual workers report that they are struggling financially more now, than they were a year ago.

Big business has used loopholes in our work laws to make what should be secure jobs into casualised, insecure work. It is a way of driving down wages and putting all the stress onto workers.

It’s not right – and it needs to change. Workers deserve secure, reliable jobs with reliable incomes.

We need to close these loopholes that were created by changes to our work laws made by the Morrison Government. It’s time to update Australia’s workplace laws to protect workers and keep wages moving.

Unions members are sending the message: Workers need better job security with fair wages.

But hey, if you’re a union member, you likely have avoided the worst of it. There are three ways being a union member makes a big difference:

1. The bigger our movement, the louder and stronger our collective voice is.
2. Union members earn, on average, $312 more per week than non-members.
3. You’re three times less likely to be in an insecure job if you’re a union member.