Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

notes the detrimental impact that the Howard Government’s WorkChoices legislation is having on young workers across Australia;

(2)

expresses deep concern over the number of teenagers who now find themselves employed under the Howard Government’s workplace agreements; and

(3)

takes immediate action to restore employment protections for the 2006 graduates from Australian high schools, many of whom are entering the workforce for the first time upon their graduation and are at risk of being exploited under these new laws.

I move this motion today to draw the attention of the House to the detrimental impact the Work Choices legislation is having on Australian youth. I would firstly like to acknowledge the fundamental role our young people play in building this great nation. Their contribution to the workforce does not go unnoticed, at least on this side of the House. I would also like to point out that these young Australians are our future. Their first experiences in the workforce are vital in shaping the future role that they play in this country and how they will add to our economy.

This motion notes the detrimental impact that the Howard government’s Work Choices legislation is having on young workers. It expresses deep concern over the number of teenagers who now find themselves employed under the Howard government’s workplace agreements, and it takes immediate action to restore employment protections for the 2006 graduates from Australian high schools, many of whom will enter the workforce for the first time upon their graduation.

This House, and indeed this nation, has borne witness to the devastating impact that these extreme industrial relations changes have had on thousands of Australian workers. Senate estimates revealed earlier this year that 100 per cent of all AWAs excluded at least one protected award condition; 63 per cent of these AWAs removed penalty rates; 31 per cent modified overtime loadings; and 22 per cent did not provide a pay increase over the life of the agreement.

I move this motion today to highlight in particular the horrendous impact this legislation is having on Australia’s young people. Whether they are working full time, part time or casually or are trying to squeeze in some extra hours with full-time study, Australia’s working youth have been universally disempowered by Work Choices. Australian children as young as 14 are signing AWAs under the coalition’s extreme IR changes. According to figures released by the government, 598 AWAs were signed by children under the age of 15 from July 2005 to May 2006. There were a further 7,779 individual contracts signed by youth aged between 15 and 18 years, and over 13,000 were signed by young workers aged 18 to 21. Considering the devastating impact individual agreements can have on young people, this is very troubling information and should be of deep concern to all members of this House.

By stripping away the provisions that ensured fair and equitable outcomes in workplace negotiations, the Howard government has made our youth increasingly vulnerable. When entering the workforce for the first time, many young people are in no position to negotiate an AWA. I am not saying this to be condescending, but many young people do not feel like equals with their employers. Young people who are most inexperienced in the employment market, thus operating from a weakened bargaining position, will face highly exploitative employment arrangements slanted heavily in favour of the employer. The Work Choices legislation abolishes basic protections for younger workers, leaving already vulnerable young workers in a worse position. It is painstakingly clear that this legislation is having a devastating impact, particularly amongst this group.

In 2006 some 330,000 young Australians are either working part-time but wanting more hours or unemployed and wanting to work, although they are not presently in the labour force. Young inexperienced individuals entering the workforce for the first time face a number of obstacles in finding and maintaining quality work. We are all familiar with the cruel contradiction of young people needing experience to get a job but unable to find a job because they do not have that experience.

With relatively high levels of youth unemployment they fear that, if they do not sign AWAs, their employers will simply hire someone else. Job security is fast becoming a thing of the past—something relevant to earlier generations but not a basic right of our youth today. As a member of the Labor Party’s industrial relations task force, I have heard from numerous young people struggling under the repressive grip of these changes. Cases brought to the task force in Launceston have included examples of young workers earning up to $2.10 per hour less, with no penalty rates.

The task force found that due to the low-skilled or entry-level nature of jobs sought by many young workers, employers can simply present individual contracts and coerce workers to sign them without negotiation. In this House, the government likes to stand up and dispute the cases that are put forward by this side of the House. (Time expired)

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