Only an extra $100 a week and hospital worker Ben Lawton says he wouldn't have to live in a caravan park, using a communal toilet, kitchen and shower.
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Avoiding certain areas, certain people.
He wouldn't have to cancel GP appointments because he can't afford the fee.
Or have to dip into savings to pay for rent, food or another pair of shoes.
The shoes are destroyed every few months because he walks around 100 kilometres a week at work, he says.
"The first thing I'd do with that extra $100 a week would be getting driving lessons. And then six, seven driving lessons, I'd be [able] to drive on the road with my P's," Mr Lawton said.
"Once I get my license, that extra $100 a week will probably be an extra $300-400 a week once I start doing overtime, because I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm not afraid of putting in the hours."
The 27-year-old is one of several unionised hospital cleaners The Canberra Times has spoken to who called on ACT senator David Pocock to pass industrial relations changes.
Labor struck a deal with Senator Pocock, who agreed to provide the final vote to get the measures across the line in the Senate in exchange for a number of changes impacting small business and people on support payments.
The changes have been opposed by groups like the Canberra Business Chamber, which said it would force small businesses into complex and unsuitable wage agreements.
Mr Lawton catches public transport, which he said doesn't reach his area late at night. He works 38 hours a week, making a bit less than $800 after tax, and paying $275 in rent.
Moving to a cheaper place would mean putting together a bond, buying furniture. Things Mr Lawton says he can't afford.
"Where the extra money would help is having a better quality of life, being able to afford stuff like doctor's appointments, stuff like better quality food," he said.
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His job, which involves mostly waste disposal, is not for the faint-hearted.
"You always got to be alert, you've always got to be on top of things. You can't really be sleeping on the job, so to speak," he said.
"If you're cutting corners, making mistakes, you will find out about it sooner rather than later. And that's [a risk] I'm not willing to take."
While Mr Lawton says while cleaners are "on the lower rungs" of the health system, "the hospital can't function without us."
"[Hospital staff are] usually the first to say good morning to you, they're usually the first to say thank you. But it doesn't always feel like we're appreciated by the people who pay our bills," he said.
Mr Lawton's situation shows "the system is broken", Lyndal Ryan from United Workers Union ACT said.
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"Low-paid workers have been on the front line during COVID [but] now they are on the front line of the cost-of-living crisis," she said.
"This bill is not a silver bullet but it offers hope to millions of workers."
However, CEO of the Canberra business chamber Graham Catt said the multi-employer bargaining parts of the industrial relations bill needed further scrutiny.
"An appropriate process of consultation with the business community has not been followed," he said.
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