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YOUNG WORKERS RIPPED OFF BY RESTAURANT CHAIN UNDER IR LAWS: MINISTER CONTRADICTED
In a move reminiscent of US-style conditions where café and restaurant employees work only for tips, a media report today reveals how a restaurant chain is using AWA individual contracts to systematically rip off scores of young workers under the Federal Government's IR laws.
The Daily Telegraph reports that young workers, many of them students at a nearby university, are paid around $13.50 an hour with no extra penalty rates for working at night, weekends or on public holidays.
The young workers are required to arrive for their shift on time but are not paid until the manager decides the restaurant is 'busy' enough for them to start their shift.
The workers also must supply a $50 float from their own money and if any customers leave without paying their wages are docked for the shortfall in takings.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:
"This report contradicts the Minister for Workplace Relations Joe Hockey who yesterday dismissed a NSW teachers' union report on the negative impact of WorkChoices on students.
It is further evidence of how vulnerable young workers have lost important rights under the Howard Government's IR laws.
Young workers have no protection from being sacked unfairly in small and medium sized businesses and they are expected to individually negotiate basic conditions like rest breaks, overtime pay and penalty rates one-on-one with their boss.
It is a recipe for unsatisfactory working conditions and young people being taken advantage of and that is exactly what is happening in too many cafes, restaurants, shops and retail outlets where young people work.
It is not good enough for the Government to only respond to these problems when they are brought to public attention through the media.
And it is not good enough for the Government to deal with these issues on a case-by-case basis.
AWA individual contracts are bad for young workers and they should be abolished," said Ms Burrow.
ACTU Media
4 July 2007
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