As of June 30, the Victorian government’s Sick Pay Guarantee scheme will be over, ending a program which financially supported over 75,000 casual and contract workers to access necessary leave in order to rest, recover and care for others. The Australian-first initiative gave Victorian casual and contract workers up to 38 hours a year of sick and carer’s pay paid at the national minimum wage. For migrant and refugee women, who are overrepresented in fields with high levels of insecure employment, this scheme represented an important step in recognising the importance of sick pay for all workers, especially those who already face health and workplace related inequities.
In announcing the end of the scheme, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas stated that COVID-era initiatives were ‘no longer needed’. However, the Sick Pay Guarantee addressed concerns for casual workers that long pre-date the pandemic. The Select Committee on Job Security’s final report noted that even prior to the pandemic, insecure work exacerbated economic disadvantage, and that disadvantage itself was often a predictor of insecure work. In the same report, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) outlined the non-COVID-19 related negative health impacts of insecure work including stress and anxiety, a higher risk of coronary heart disease, higher incidences of high cholesterol and hypertension, and risks associated with feeling unable to report injuries or accidents suffered in the workplace.
For migrant and refugee women, insecure work is often presented as a fact of life. A combination of factors such as racial discrimination, a lack of recognition for overseas qualifications, a lack of local employment networks and the need to balance caring responsibilities, mean that insecure work is often the only option available. The health impacts of insecure work can also be exacerbated by existing barriers to accessing healthcare that migrant and refugee women experience, such as lack of access to Medicare and culturally responsive health information and services. Migrant and refugee women have also been found to be most at risk of sexual harassment when in insecure work and low-wage work, echoing the AMAs observation that insecure working conditions can make it harder to report harm without fear of losing income.
These issues were acknowledged by the government in the design of the Sick Pay Guarantee scheme, stating that the pilot would focus “on the industries with some of the highest rates of casual and contract workers who do not have access to sick pay, whose work hours are often unpredictable and low paid, and people who are more likely to experience hardship, such as people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women and young people”.
The public health benefits of paid sick and carers days are well known. From the experience of COVID-19 we are acutely aware of the importance of sick leave to stop the spread of disease. However, paid sick and carers leave also helps to prevent the exacerbation of injury and sickness and delays in accessing medical treatment, while improving child health outcomes for children whose parents can access carers leave. The benefits of paid sick leave alleviate some of the health risks associated with insecure work, providing breathing room for workers to prioritise their health in an unpredictable economic environment.
For many migrant and refugee women, the Sick Pay Guarantee improved the intrinsic conditions of insecure work, rather than just those exacerbated by the pandemic. Migrant and refugee women still face unequal health and employment outcomes. The Sick Pay Guarantee did something to alleviate this inequity, offering important security for migrant and refugee women facing stressful employment conditions – to rest and recover as required while providing the time necessary to access health services and navigate our often confusing and complex health system.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues, we must take seriously the health impacts of insecure work, as well as recognise who is more likely to find themselves in conditions of precarious and unpredictable work. It is extremely disappointing that the Sick Pay Guarantee Scheme will not be extended. Policies like these provide proof that if we have the will, we can take steps to improve the conditions of casual and contract work, so that migrant and refugee women, and all workers, do not have to choose between rest, recovery and healing or a day’s pay.
This article was first published in edition #134 of The WRAP on June 2024.