Page 2396 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 2 August 2017
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Recent cuts to penalty rates have also disproportionately affected young workers, and the cuts to their take-home pay make their situation even more precarious. The ACT government is, of course, bitterly disappointed that this decision will adversely affect people who work in the retail, fast food and hospitality sectors. As we have discussed in this place, there is no evidence that cutting penalty rates will create new jobs, but we know it will cut the take-home pay of some of our lowest paid and most vulnerable workers, including young people.
We on this side of the chamber make no apologies for standing up for workers’ rights and safety. We make no apology for thinking it appropriate that young people—people who are known to be vulnerable in the workplace—should have the opportunity to be informed of their rights at work. Young workers in the ACT and across the country regularly experience exploitation and being exposed to unsafe work practices. This is simply unacceptable. According to a survey of 263 ACT workers aged 15 to 25, seven out of 10 workers felt bullied or harassed at work, while one in two felt they had been forced to work in an unsafe environment.
This research found that half of young people aged 15 to 25 had been placed in working conditions that were unsafe; 70 per cent of young workers had experienced bullying or harassment while at work; awareness of workplace safety rights, policies and laws was low; young women experienced high levels of sexual harassment while at work; and young workers reported fears and pressure from employers to not report unsafe practices. Working in unsafe workplaces was also common for workers under the age of 18, those who are largely still at school, despite additional ACT laws designed to protect child employees. Sixty per cent of workers in this age group had experienced bullying or harassment. Young workers are also injured at up to twice the rate of the rest of the workforce.
This survey uncovered some absolute horror stories from young people of their experiences of bullying, harassment and unsafe work practices. One 16-year-old worker recounted how an older and higher ranking employee constantly belittled them, gave them looks that made them feel uncomfortable and often asked if they were stupid. The teenager said, “Some nights I would come home in tears. My decision to leave the job was largely impacted by her behaviour.” In another example, a 21-year-old who was severely underweight said her manager called her fat and made sexist comments towards female staff “but was really buds with the male staff”. Another 21-year-old reported, “I was threatened with rape by an anonymous note at work.”
This problem is endemic across Australia. Similar surveys have shown that systematic underpayment of young workers is so rife that it appears to be part of the business model of many businesses. Unscrupulous employers are taking advantage of young people’s urgent need to find work by offering unpaid eight-hour “work trials” which never result in any paid work. While the ACT has limited powers in legislating or regulating industrial relations and employment matters such as these, by no means does this mean that this government is going to just sit back and allow this appalling exploitation of young workers to keep occurring. This is why the government works
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