What impact has WorkChoices had on the wages, working conditions, working lives and well-being of Victorian non-union members?

This paper reports on the outcomes of survey research conducted between March-September 2007 into the experiences of 554 workers and jobseekers after the introduction of the WorkChoices legislative amendments. The sample was drawn from a Victoria-wide data base of approximately 12,000 callers to a community legal advice centre, JobWatch Inc. Survey data were supplemented with qualitative data from 30 focus group participants in Melbourne and a regional centre. Over a quarter of survey respondents had experienced a change in their employment arrangements, with a significant shift towards more individualised arrangements. Within this, there were some pay and conditions changes, with base pay rates increasing and working hours also generally increasing. However, the most significant findings relate to a heightened sense of job insecurity, fear of speaking up at work and general dissatisfaction with work culture and WorkChoices. There were strong indications that workers now had less choice in their working arrangements, and any employment changes had largely been driven by employers or the labour market environment.