Fact Sheet 12 : Young Workers

This Fact Sheet was prepared for the July 2002 General Election campaign.

Labour/Alliance Government has brought benefits for young workers.

The election of the Labour / Alliance Government has meant real benefits for workers in New Zealand. This Government has supported better workplace rights for young workers.

Labour / Alliance has:

-Increased the minimum wage from $7.00 an hour to $8.00 which, now applies from 18 years, not 20.

-Increased the minimum wage for 16/17 year olds from only $4.20 to $6.40.

-Scrapped the Employment Contracts Act (ECA) and replaced it with the new Employment Relations Act (ERA). ERA and ECA - Whats the difference?

The old ECA gave employers too much say in the conditions workers were employed under. The ECA was particularly bad for young and part-time workers. It meant thousands of young people were kept on casual contracts without the security of a permanent job.

This Government has introduced the new ERA which supports collective bargaining, mediation, and good faith. Collective bargaining works for young people as workers have more power to get a fair deal when they stand together. The ERA makes it easier to be part of a union at work and get the benefits, including collective bargaining.

The ERA includes a 30 day rule for when a worker starts a new job at a site where the employees have a collective agreement with the employer. A new worker is automatically covered by the same terms and conditions for the first 30 days. You can then choose to join the collective. This is an important improvement for young workers as you get the benefits of collective bargaining as soon as you start and you dont have to negotiate with the boss on your own.

The Government still needs to go further for young workers.

Casualised employment continues to be a serious problem for many young workers. The Youth Union Movement wants the new Government to address casualisation by following through with proposed changes to the Holidays Act as well as ttightening up the use of fixed term contracts.

Young workers want fairer workplaces where you get treated the same no matter how many hours a week you work. Part-time and casual workers need to have the same rights as full-time workers.

Respect Young Workers - Scrap Youth Rates

It is time for employers to get over the idea that you can pay young people less for doing the same job. This Government has made a good start by increasing minimum wages but its time to finish the job.

Young people are worth it. Young workers under the age of 16 still dont have the protection of a minimum wage. An employer can pay a fifteen your old $4.00 an hour and it's legal. The CTU wants a fair minimum wage to protect all workers.

The CTU wants to see these changes:

-Minimum wage to be lifted to $10 an hour.

-Phase out the youth minimum wage so that the adult rate applies to all workers.

-Tightening up use of fixed term contracts so workers are assumed to be permanent unless there is a genuine reason why they cannot be.

-Making it illegal for employers to discriminate against workers just because they work part-time or on a casual basis.

-Making sure casual workers are covered by Collective Agreements.

-Improved minimum code rights for casual and labour hire workers from temp agencies.

What might a National / Act Coalition Government do if elected?

National have released a Workplace Law Policy which promises to:

- allow employers to sack workers in the first 3 months of employment without the worker having any appeal rights - prevent union access to workplaces - change the rules for collective bargaining

Remember under a National Government, wages, conditions, overtime, allowances, penal rates, sick leave, holidays were all under attack because National loaded the dice in favour of employers.

What about ACTs policy?

ACT wants to remove the Employment Relations Act entirely so that all workplace relations are covered by contract law. This would mean that employers would be free to employ workers on whatever conditions they could get an individual to agree to at the time of employment.

Young workers deserve more respect than this.

Its all about Respect - Demand it, you deserve it!