Australians Overworked, Underpaid and Unequal

To outsiders Australia has always been an egalitarian paradise of decent living standards, easy work and time off at the beach.

But according to a new survey, Australians are among the most overworked people in the developed world.

The report, by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (Actu), found that a higher proportion worked 50-plus hours a week in Australia than in any of the other 29 countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

It also found that half the workforce was in part-time or casual work, and half worked overtime but only two out of five were paid extra for it.

Even the image of Australia as a country of mates who believe instinctively in equality seems shaky in the light of a finding that only the top 40% of earners saw their income rise in the 1990s.

"Australia's economic prosperity in recent years has been built on the back of inequality and the intensification of work," the Actu secretary, Greg Combet, told a conference in Sydney yesterday on the future of work.

"Economic risk has been shifted directly on to employees through casualisation, contracting and agency employment." Actu called for a higher minimum wage and the right for casual employees to opt for a permanent job after six months.