New report: Digital platform work in Australia
A new report presents the preliminary findings from a national survey commissioned by the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet. It was prepared by Prof Paula McDonald (QUT), Dr Penny Williams (QUT), Prof Andrew Stewart (University of Adelaide), Dr Damian Oliver (UTS), and A/Prof Robyn Mayes (QUT). The survey of 14,000 respondents…
Seminar: WIL, Internships and Equity
In this seminar on Tuesday 14th May, A/Prof Robyn Mayes, Dr Deanna Grant-Smith and Prof Paula McDonald from the Work/Industry Futures Research Program presented recent research in the field of work integrated learning (WIL), open market internships and student equity in postgraduate access. The presentations, which were hosted by the QUT…
Inclusion and work: Disability perspectives
Dr Jannine Williams and Dr. Kathy Moore hosted a QUT alumni event on Tuesday 19th February addressing Inclusion and Work: Disability Perspectives. The event featured guest speakers Sinead Hourigan, Qld Director for Robert Walters; Mary Darke, Associate Director for Robert Walters; and Bill Gamack, CEO EPIC. The presenters shared their…
Submission to national inquiry into workplace sexual harassment
Paula McDonald and Sara Charlesworth (RMIT) published a Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces. Read the submission… Excerpts from the submission were published in an article in Workplace Express on February 1st…
Why some workers are saying no to the gig economy
Predictions of large numbers of workers choosing or being compelled to access work via digital platforms have proliferated in the popular media and consultancy reports. Yet such predictions have so far not been borne out in workforce statistics. In this article in Futures of Work, Penny Williams, Robyn Mayes and Paula McDonald discuss…
Gig-style internships are on the rise
Paula McDonald was interviewed for an article in Campus Review on ‘micro-internships’. The article raised a number of concerns about this new form of gig work, including avenues of dispute for non-payments if a company deems an intern’s work incomplete or unacceptable, and rights to benefits and protections enjoyed by other employees…