Living in regional Victoria, I knew I’d need to move to Melbourne to study for my dream degree.
I knew it would cost a lot of money, and I only had a few years to save up. So, I got my first job the moment I could.
On weekends, I’d usually wake up around 4am – as a casual, it wasn’t like I could pick and choose which shifts I got.
Early one morning, I woke up in bed with a splitting migraine.
I reached over for my phone in the dark to call in sick.
My manager told me the team really needed me, that it wasn’t fair to everyone else on the shift, and there wasn’t any shift I could swap with for the rest of the week.
So, I got up – feeling faint and dizzy – and went to work.
It was the longest shift of my life. But to put it plainly, I couldn’t afford to miss it.
Because it meant I’d lose an entire shift’s worth of pay.
If I had had the Sick Pay Guarantee – like casuals do now, thanks to the Andrews Labor Government – maybe things would have been different.
Maybe I wouldn’t have been made to choose between going to work with a migraine or being paid that week.
Because no worker should have to choose between a day’s pay and their health – or the health of a loved one.
But make no mistake – you can’t trust Matthew Guy’s Liberals to protect casual workers.
And this Sunday, we really could wake up to a Matthew Guy Liberal Government.
Sick Pay Guarantee will be put on the chopping block – leaving thousands of workers without the safety net they need.
Don’t wake up on Sunday thinking you could have done more.
So please, I’m asking for your help – I can’t do it without you.
Help us re-elect an Andrews Labor Government. Sign up to knock on doors and make phone calls – now.
Because casual workers need you to.