Has National Sickie Day become a national strike?

A call by Radio Chaser for a National Sickie Day this Friday has now morphed into something a little more serious with revelations that 40% of Australia’s workforce don’t get access to sick leave and now over 100,000 people have registered on the web site to take part in what started out as a tongue in cheek stunt.
 
In the latest move Mick Molloy has agreed to be the official Ambassador of National Sick Day.
 
Executive Director of National Sickie Day, Charles Firth, says “After an exhaustive search, we have decided that Mick Molloy best exemplifies the values of the sickie: indolence, lack of reliability and, above all, leaving your colleagues in the lurch.”
 
In announcing his support, Mick Molloy pointed to his own success as proof that chucking lots of sickies is a good thing. “People always say to me, Mick, what’s the key to your success? It’s not because I’m so good looking. It’s not because of my dapper sense of style. It’s because I was prepared to stand up and take lots of sickies, even when everyone around me was depending on me to turn up.”
 
What started out as a joke idea among The Chaser team has snowballed into a national movement. 
 
“We had hoped to get a few hundred people pledging to take the day off on Friday 28th June, but it’s now over 100,000 people and growing.”
 
“I think we might have accidentally organised a general strike.”
 
The Radio Chaser host said he had been surprised by the response. “A lot of people just think it’s awesome, but there are a lot of people contacting us telling us they don’t get sickies at all. It turns out 40% of workers get no sick leave. It’s a disgrace.”
 
“If Scott Morrison is doing anything with the workplace laws, this is it. There should be a national sick leave scheme so that every Australian has access to paid sick leave. After all, it’s the most Australian of all the different types of leaves.”

 
 
 

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