The Great Australian " Sickie " !

By one of those strange quirks of nature, this " Australia Day " falls on a Tuesday.   In the minds of a vast number of people that conjours up a very appealing opportunity to interpose a reasonable excuse for missing work on that Monday to string together a four day break.   It doesn't take Nostradamus to predict that this Monday, January 25 is going to be the " Great Australian Sickie "  !

In fact the gnomes in the statistical bureaus estimate that it is highly likely that 180,000 Australians will be missing from their work stations on Monday, January 25 - and that this will cost business somewhere in the vicinity of sixty two million dollars in wages paid for lost production.

The  " Sickie  " has become an Australian institution in the minds of many people.  It started life when in the argy bargy of union pay negotiations it was argued that workers reporting for work when they were suffering an illness put both their lives and others at risk because their performance was below par.   It was written into awards that workers were allowed up to five days off work a year with full pay if they reported in sick.

For many people, this was regarded as an extension of annual leave and each of those " sick days " was meticulously ticked off and taken, and it became the habit to schedule them on either a Friday or a Monday, to create a " long weekend ".   The weather had a lot to do with that scheduling.  When the sun was shining in mid summer industry expected that there would be a peak in employees calling in sick on a Friday or a Monday.

Graft entered the picture when in some industries taking the allocation of sick days became a tightly scheduled deliverer of bonuses to enhance pay.  Employees were encouraged to take their sickie as per a roster so that someone else on that same roster would have to be called in to cover their absence - and get all sorts of " award " benefits that enhanced their pay for that extra day worked.

Sick days were specially debilitating for small businesses.  Many had no back-up arrangements and the gap caused by a missing worker slowed service and put extra strain on the remaining staff     The initial granting of sick days applied to heavy industry, but it quickly entered the award for general staff and found it's way into the social fabric of the entire working system.

There have been attempts to reign it in and some industries insist that if a sick day is taken it must be accompanied by a medical certificate from a qualified doctor explaining the need for the absence.  Some employers are more specific, and only require a medical certificate when that sick day is taken immediately before or after a national long weekend holiday.

Of course, the usual rules of " supply and demand " took care of that need.   It quickly became apparent that there were certain doctors who would readily grant the necessary medical paperwork to cover a supposed illness - and in many cases bulk bill that service.   In most cases, that would be a very brief consultation.

Many people feel " uncomfortable " in inflicting a sickie on their employer and with job opportunities tight some may desist this Australia day, but it is still likely that there will be a vast number who treat this coming Monday as another public holiday.

Perhaps the custom has been so deeply entrenched that it is now impossible to remove from the Australian way of life  !