The ACTU will push for the Fair Work Commission's four-year modern award review to create a common clause giving more than two million casual workers the right to become permanent employees.
A maths teacher employed as a casual for one month is suing the public school's principal and his supervisor for defamation after they assessed him – using a pro forma departmental form - as suitable only for limited casual teaching roles.
The number of casual workers in Australia has climbed past the 2.2 million mark but the proportion of the workforce that is casual has steadied and another form of non-standard employment - independent contracting - has fallen over the last five years, according to the latest ABS data.
