Young People Demand Equal Pay
Young workers in Canberra rallied outside Dickson Woolworths in Canberra this Saturday 21 to demand an end to discriminatory ‘junior employee’ rates. The rally was part of a National Day of Action and kicks off the Youth Wages Suck national campaign.
The rally demands the removal of discriminatory pay rates and generally raise awareness about the issues young people face in the workplace.
‘Why are we paid less just because we are under 21 years old? We do the same work, at the same speed, with the same amount of our time. We deserve better! New Zealand recently removed youth wages and suffered no negative consequences. Australians deserve the same.
Young people in Australia are being paid as little as 39% of the adult minimum wage. Often this amount will not even cover the cost of that person getting to and from work. Young people have to pay the same amount for groceries, rent and ransport. In a modern world it is not fair to be forcing young people to be working poor.
17 year old employee Ellie Yates said: ‘I do the same work as the 22 year old next to me yet I can get paid 60% of what they do. How is that fair?’
Employers in the retail, fast-food and hospitality industries will be making large profits this Christmas season. Rallying in sight of two of the largest employers of young people in Australia, Woolworths and McDonalds, we say ‘don’t be scrooges’. Instead we urge employers to pass on some of these profits to their young employees.
Minimum wage does not mean you have to pay that rate, employers can choose to pay a fairer rate. Young people will be working on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and over New Years. These are the hours no-one else wants to work. They will be working just as hard as all other employees would and it’s only fair that they get an equal rate of pay.’
The national youth wages campaign is demanding 3 key things:
The removal of the ‘Junior Employee’ wage exceptions in the ‘Fair’ Work Act.
That Fair Work Australia removes ‘Junior Employee’ rates from all awards and wage determinations.
For ‘Junior Employee’ rates to be removed from all Enterprise Agreements.
Contact: Will Mudford on 0423 445 339 at Unions ACT.
For more information on the National Day of Action visit:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148179562671
For more information of youth wages visit:
http://www.unite.org.au/2008/03/30/students-rights-at-work-youth-wages/
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