Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this month, the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress endorsed a campaign to scrap junior wages. Junior rates apply in 55 awards and also apply to certain apprentices. For example, under the Road Transport and Distribution Award, an 18-year-old worker is entitled to 70 per cent of the adult rate; under the airline operations award, a 16-year-old worker is entitled to 50 per cent of the adult rate; and, under the Fast Food Industry Award, a 15-year-old worker is entitled to just 40 per cent of the adult rate. That increases by 10 per cent every year until an employee turns 21. The ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus, has backed the move, saying:

Cost of living is hard for everyone, but especially hard for young people, and the new generational inequality that exists and [junior wages] is just reinforcing it.

An article in the ABC spoke about a 21-year-old, Josie, who has worked in hospitality since she was 15, and by the time she was 18 was promoted to supervisor. She said:

There definitely were a few employees who were over 21 who were getting paid more than me, even though I was supervising them.

Now, that's a perverse disincentive for young people to take on more responsibility in their workplace. James Lea from the Young Workers Centre, a community and legal aid service in Victoria, said:

Junior wages are just another form of legalised discrimination against young people.

Gerard Dwyer, the national secretary of the retail union, also said:

In the eyes of the law, 18, 19 and 20 year olds are adults. They can vote, drink alcohol and join the army—why are they paid as juniors?

I agree, and there is a chorus of protests from the business community in response to that view. The Australian Retail Association said:

Without these rates, these young people may otherwise struggle to compete against older, more experienced applicants.

The Business Council of Australia said that 'now is not the time to add more hurdles for businesses with new costs added to their operations'. But we know that for big business it's never a good time to pay workers what they are worth. When I worked for the trucking and distribution industry, companies never used junior rates. They were in the award, but they didn't used them, because they had the view—as the workforce did—that, regardless of how old you were, you were paid according to your ability. And when you're doing an adult's work, you get paid as an adult. Comparable countries, like New Zealand, Canada and South Korea, have already abolished or limited the use of junior wages. If they can do it then so can we. I support that application from the shop assistants union to the Fair Work Commission to ensure workers 18 and over are paid the full adult rate.

Going to a broader question, last week Senator McKenzie made it clear that the Liberals and Nationals are committed to their crusade against workers in the transport sector, yet again. The Transport Workers Union have raised an alarm about reports that a former Qantas operating officer is being shortlisted for the role of CEO at Virgin. Paul Jones was the architect of the illegal outsourcing of 1,700 ground handlers at Qantas. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Alan Joyce in masterminding the largest illegal sacking in Australia's history. Then he outsourced their jobs to the lowest bidder. He should not be put up for a promotion; he should be put up for charges. But Senator McKenzie has accused TWU of mission creep and of going beyond its remit by 'seeking the influence the investment decisions of businesses trying to run profitable, sustainable and safe airlines'. Senator McKenzie has forgotten: it's the workers that make these companies profitable, sustainable and safe—and good management. Those opposite wouldn't bail out Virgin—they left them to the wolves, and it was saved only by the TWU, Deloitte and good managers. Then they pumped $2 billion into Qantas, and now, at the first opportunity, Senator McKenzie wants to stand with one of Alan Joyce's proteges.

During the Qantas High Court case, Justice Lee found that Paul Jones was, and I quote, 'feigning a lack of recollection' and was 'willing to fashion his evidence to suit what he perceived to be the forensic advantage of his erstwhile employer'. This is the candidate for CEO that Senator McKenzie has put her bet on. But I wouldn't expect anything less. At the hearing on the 'closing the loopholes' bill last year, Senator McKenzie said this:

I am not on a unity ticket with Qantas and Alan Joyce when it comes to ripping off Qantas workers through labour hire.

If that were true then Senator McKenzie would have voted for our legislation to close that loophole, but she didn't. She voted against it, and now we see she is attacking workers' representatives who are sticking up for good and secure jobs and good management being put in place at an important carrier in the transport industry. The TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said that Virgin was now at a crossroads and could either take the high road or risk decimating its workforce. Virgin should find a CEO without a track record of illegal activity and lying in court. Those opposite should stick to talking about issues where they have an ounce of credibility, but they won't because they want people to work longer for less. Their comments and their voting record speak for themselves.

I'll turn to matters regarding BHP. In September last year the opposition leader, Mr Dutton, said that our bill to close the labour hire loophole would 'deny employers the choice to use labour hire workers'. Like all of the other claims from the Chicken Little fearmongering that we saw during the IR debate, that just hasn't happened. What has happened is the Mining and Energy Union has lodged a test case in the Fair Work Commission regarding same job, same pay laws. BHP subsidiaries across three mines in Central Queensland stand to gain between $10,000 and $40,000 a year. That is the difference between labour hire and BHP's direct employees. The barrister for BHP said that the miner would likely argue that the performance of the work is and continues to be for provisions of service as distinct from supply. That doesn't surprise me because during the closing loopholes inquiry BHP, Qantas and other bad-faith users of labour hire tried their very best to wiggle out of the scope of the laws. The MEU Queensland district president, Mitch Hughes, said, 'We expect BHP to throw everything at trying to avoid their same job, same pay obligations for workers.' He said further that BHP would 'rather spend money on lawyers than fair wages'.

But not all employers are hesitant to pay their workers what they're worth. In response to separate applications from the MEU, the mine operator Thiess decided to directly employ all their labour hire workers, including trainees. The MEU general secretary, Grahame Kelly, said that this would see more than 50 workers get a pay rise of $25,000 plus in the first year, and, when the agreement kicks in, they'll get $40,000 a year more than they used to. Another example was when, in 2023, Whitehaven bought two coalmines in Central Queensland. Because they knew the same job, same pay laws were on the way, they committed to transitioning 400 BHP operational services workers from labour hire to permanent jobs. These wage increases are a practical cost-of-living measure, and they will be life changing for workers who have been waiting a long, long time for these laws.

One Nation, the Liberals and the Nationals voted against the same job, same pay legislation, and they should be upfront about the fact that they desire to take tens of thousands of dollars out of regional communities. Australians are earning more because we've changed workplace laws to get wages moving again, and we've seen regional workers receive wage justice. What we're challenged with is the opposition's intent to repeal laws that have given regional workers up to $44,000 extra a year, where companies have paid those increases of their own volition, and then going and backing in the dodgy end of town—the BHPs or managers like the ex-Qantas buccaneer that's now applied for the job to run Virgin. Australians are earning because we changed workplace laws to get wages moving again, as I've said. The government wants Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn.