Recovery without jobs for Victorian women

Recovery without jobs for Victorian women

By Margarita Windisch

MELBOURNE — Although Victoria's economy is currently in an "upturn", fewer women in 1995 have full time jobs than at the lowest point of the recession two years ago.

Job growth in Melbourne and Victoria is less than that in other states. Also, three quarters of positions vacant during this "growth" in the job market are part time or casual.

In two years, Melbourne gained net only around 5800 full-time positions, which went entirely to men. Full-time employment for women in Victoria has fallen during the "blink and miss it" recovery.

The excessive slashing of state government jobs in primarily female occupations such as teaching, nursing and welfare is largely responsible for this situation. Drastic cuts in the clothing and textile industry, in conjunction with the dwindling of clerical jobs, further marginalises women in the job market.

Women suffer the brunt of both state and federal governments' labour market policies. "Flexibility" of the labour market is advocated as a means to boost competitiveness in the international market. Introduced to achieve this flexibility, employment contracts and enterprise bargaining have left most workers out in the cold. Women workers have experienced a loss in pay and working conditions, a reduction in full-time work and loss of job security.

From GLW issue 178