If you want to get a feel for the labour market in Australia next year then an intervention by the Australian government and a party thrown by a mining magnate over the past fortnight will give you an idea of how things are shaking out.

Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister has over a long period supported the case for equal pay for women. In 2009, the Australian Services Union (ASU) received an in-principle agreement with the Australian government to support equal pay for women and commenced a test case to look at the female dominated Community Services sector and equal rights in relation to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

However, when the Australian Government realised that real support for women’s equal pay rights might look good politically, it does come at a significant cost. Last week, the Commonwealth put forward a submission to Fair Work Australia, against the ASU test case. They argued that a pay rise (estimated to be between 14 – 50% of current wages) for the Community Services sector would be a considerable burden to the budget and would limit the ability of the Government to return the budget to surplus.

For perspective the annual costs for the Community Services sector which is picked up by all levels of Government is approximately $5.4 Billion AUD, with the Federals picking up half the tab (Kirsty Needham, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 November 2010).

So, let’s say you are one of the 153,000 people who work in Community Services in Australia of which 85% are female. A quick search of Seek provides some telling if anecdotal evidence about your level of remuneration. Of the 184 jobs on offer in Brisbane 73 (40%) are for contingent staffing (including casuals, temporary, contract and part-timers). For those seeking employment with a salary range up to $60,000 AUD there were 142 of 184 jobs (77%), or up to $70,000 166 of 184 jobs (90%). If you consider the OECD’s median household income for Australia 2007/2008 was $66,890 AUD then at least 90% of the Community Services jobs on offer in Brisbane are below the median wage line and just less than half don’t give you a fully utilised week.

Oh, and the Australian Government is now advocating that your sector stays that way.

Now for the other of the labour market.

On Friday, the 19th November 2010, Clive Palmer threw an estimated $2,000,000 party for his 2000-Yabulu refinery workers and their families at Reid Park in the city of Townsville. If you add the 50 B180 Mercedes-Benz cars he handed out, mainly to non executive workers and the 800 holiday packages for the plants long-term employees the final bill is estimated as closer to $10,000,000 (The Weekend Australian, 20-21 November 2010).

Clive Palmer was quoted as saying “You can only sleep in one bed, have one meal at a time, drive the one car, and go out with the one woman – if you’re sensible. I’ve got enough money to do all that, so I thought I’d give some away”.

Now Clive Palmer’s comments reflect a genuine interest in his workforce. He also could be thumbing his nose at the new Labour Prime Minister, given his bitter fight against the Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) and antipathy towards its replacement, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT). Julia Gillard was one of the gang of four (which included Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan and Lindsay Tanner) who put the two taxes on the table. In the end, $10M of the $200M which the Yabulu refinery earned is a small price to pay for a very dedicated, focussed and loyal staff. It’s also worth noting that 18-months previously that same workforce faced losing their employment and potentially being moth-balled during the worst of the Global Financial Crisis by the then owners BHP Billiton.

My prediction for the labour market in 2011 will be one of contrasts between the winners (such as mining) and the losers (like Community Services). The challenge of next year faced by Australia will be managing the dynamics of prosperity after staring down the GFC.

Oh, I’ll also give you one final prediction for 2011. I doubt Clive Palmer will have any workforce planning issues in the near future and would be unlikely to give me a call requesting help in this space. I will remain faithfully by the phone, just-in-case.

Notes:

i) Seek research was conducted on the 24 November 2010 utilising Brisbane data only. A similar comparison for the Legal profession: for a salary up to $60,000 AUD there were 321 of 1,013 jobs (32%) or up to $70,000 356 of 1,013 (35%) and your chances of being employed on a contingent basis are reduced with a return of just 49 of 1,013 jobs (5%).
ii) I requested an interview with Linda White, Assistant National Secretary for the Australian Services Union but she was unavailable for comment.