Nearly one in five workers has lost their job or income due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey from the peak body for unions in the ACT.
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Unions ACT asked 630 workers how their job had been affected by the virus, as hundreds of thousands of Australians were put out of work due to social distancing restrictions.
It found 18 per cent had lost their job, while another 19 per cent had lost shifts or income.
Around two in five workers who'd lost their jobs were casual employees (41 per cent), however this increased to more than half (54 per cent) when other categories of insecure work - labour hire, short-term contracts and those getting cash-in-hand - were included.
But the pain is not only being felt by casual staff. Thirty-seven per cent of people surveyed who'd lost their jobs were permanent workers, both part and full-timers.
The hospitality sector was also the hardest-hit.Fifty-three per cent of workers who'd lost their job were in the hospitality sector while 14 per cent were in retail.
Of workers who'd lost income, 23 per cent were in hospitality and 15 per cent were in retail.
There had also been an increase in lost income in the education and training sector in the past week, with 9 per cent of respondents from that sector reporting a reduction in take-home pay.
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It comes as Unions ACT calls on the federal government to widen the safety net for workers affected by the coronavirus downturn.
Analysis from the group showed 17,300 casual workers and 8600 migrant workers in Canberra will not be eligible for the JobKeeper wage subsidy.
While the scheme will subsidise wages of $1500 per fortnight, it excludes casual workers not continuously employed for more than 12 months, and most migrant workers.
The subsidy also does not cover the full amount of wages being lost.
According to the survey, the average weekly income lost due to the coronavirus crisis was $884.
"There are 26,000 workers in the ACT whose jobs and income should be protected by the wages subsidy but aren't," Unions ACT secretary Alex White said.
"Migrant workers in particular do not qualify for social security, so face potential destitution and homelessness if they lose their job due to coronavirus."
