Tradies sink more drink
THE building boom could prove to be a bust for the livers of construction workers as new figures reveal drinking rates are on the rise among tradies because of healthy pay rates and regular work.
Experts say the high disposable income rates for tradies, who earn an average of $81,636 a year, has contributed to rising rates of drinking alcohol during the past three years.
But Gold Coast plumber Danny Bernath disagrees.
“I think it’s a complete lie. Wages haven't been keeping up with cost of living,” he said.
Mr Bernath, who was at the Broadbeach Bowls Club yesterday, said while he and his mates loved a drink, they were not heading to the pub any more than they previously had.
He said he could sometimes go for months without a drink.
Tradespeople were one of just three categories of workers to buck a national trend of falling drinking rates since 2015 revealed in Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
The ABS data on how much each occupation drinks per week shows that tradies, farmers, and arts and media professionals were the only occupations whose rates of alcohol consumption rose.
Experts say the reason tradies are drinking more is because they’re relatively well paid and the industry has better employment outlook than other labour intensive industries like manufacturing.
The percentage of construction and trades workers who had consumed alcohol in the past week rose from 72.5 per cent in 2015 to 77.5 per cent last year.
The number of farmers drinking rose from 68.6 per cent in 2015 to 76.6 per cent over the same period, but the reasons for their increase in drinking were more sombre, experts said.
Flinders University Associate Professor Ken Pidd said farmers were drinking more because of the stress relief alcohol offered.
He said with the onset of the drought it was unsurprising they were drinking more.
Prof Pidd said for construction workers having drinks after work was a cultural phenomenon – but said alcohol consumption had decreased from the 1980s when it was common for builders to knock back a few schooners at lunchtime.
Arts and media professionals also increased from 66.4 of the workforce to 74.8 to last year.
The figures show that chief executive officers and managers are still the biggest drinkers, although their rate fell slightly over the three-year period from 80.8 per cent saying they had consumed alcohol to 77.9 per cent.
Carers and aids dropped from 48.4 per cent having consumed a drink in the past week in 2015 to 41.7 last financial year.