21 April 2006 Transport and Industrial Select Committee Parliament House WELLINGTON Attention: Paul Weakley – Clerk of the Committee Submission of YouthLaw Tino Rangatiratanga Taitamariki on Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Bill 2006 Introduction 1. YouthLaw Tino Rangatiratanga Taitamariki is a community law centre vested under the Legal Services Act 2000. We provide a free, national legal service for children and young people aged below 25 years. 2. Our service includes the provision of free legal advice and advocacy, law-related education and outreach work, development and publication of legal resources (including books, flick-cards and a website) and law reform and policy work. 3. A significant proportion of our legal advice queries and casework concern problems young people have in employment. These range from personal grievance, sexual harassment and discrimination issues to compliance matters, such as wages recovery and Holidays Act and Minimum Wage Act compliance. 4. Over five years on from the enactment of the Employment Relations Act 2000, young people remain extremely vulnerable to unfair and unconscionable treatment in the employment sector. Our anecdotal experience informs us that significant numbers of young workers are not accorded minimum employment standards, such as written employment contracts for example, and are vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal or unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of their employment. Our Position on the Bill 5. We accordingly support the Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Bill („the Bill‟) as we consider that it will greatly improve employment conditions for young workers.
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6. We agree with the Explanatory Note of the Bill that the current minimum wage regime discriminates against young people aged 16 and 17 and that this discrimination is, using the language of the Explanatory Note, “arbitrary, inequitable and unjustifiable” when measured against the principle of “equal pay for equal value”. 7. The differential minimum wages provided for currently in the Minimum Wage Act constitutes prima facie age discrimination for the purposes of section 21(i) of the Human Rights Act 1993. 8. We consider that this discrimination is unable to be reasonably justified under either a section 5 Bill of Rights Act analysis or any non-legal ethical analysis. We do not agree with arguments that young workers should be paid less than adult workers for reasons of economic efficiency or due to the inexperience of young workers. Put more bluntly, a 17 year old who has been working for two or more years should be entitled to expect the same minimum wage protection as an 18 year old with no work experience at all. We consider that all workers should be entitled to a minimum wage, irrespective of age or experience. 9. The commencement age for full-time work in New Zealand is 16. 16 is an important age threshold in New Zealand for a number of reasons. It is the age a young person can decide to leave school, leave home, work full-time, consent to sex, apply for their own passport and travel overseas independent of their parents and give unfettered informed consent to medical procedures. 10. Therefore it makes sense that 16 and 17 year olds, who are legally entitled to support and make decisions for themselves, should also be entitled to the same minimum wage as their 18 year old colleagues. The current law places independent 16 and 17 year olds at a significant economic disadvantage. 11. It should also be noted that many 16 and 17 year old workers contribute financially, and in some cases provide the primary economic support to their families, namely their parents and younger siblings. These young workers should be entitled to the same minimum wage as worker aged 18 and over. 12. We also consider that providing young workers with equality of wage entitlement will have the corresponding effect of improving their overall conditions in the workplace. As they will no longer be of diminished status, young workers will be less vulnerable to subject to unfair employment conditions or non-compliance by employers with minimum employment standards. Workers aged under 16 13. We would also like to briefly draw the Committee‟s attention to some of the problems facing workers aged under 16, as we consider that it is pertinent given the purpose of this Bill.
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14. As the Committee will be aware, young workers aged under 16 are not entitled to a minimum wage. The Bill does not change this. 15. It is traditional and encouraged in New Zealand for young people to enter into forms of employment ay an early age. Most people have worked in part-time jobs such as milk-runs, paper delivery, supermarket, shop assistance or other service sector positions, whilst still at school and aged under 16. This can be a very positive and worthwhile experience for young people, giving them confidence, skills and experience and some economic independence. 16. However, our anecdotal experience suggests that these young workers are the most vulnerable to exploitation and unfair treatment in the workplace. We have been made aware of many situations where young workers aged below 16 are being paid significantly lower than the minimum wage – often less than $5.00 per hour. 17. However, more problematic are situations where the employers fail to provide these young people with basic employment protections (usually by way of an independent contract) or, conversely, agreements that have offer minimal consideration (ie a very low wage) for comparatively onerous employment conditions. 18. These young workers are the most invisible sector of the overall New Zealand workforce. We consider that, given the context of this Bill, it would be timely for there to be some review of this area, with a view to implementing basic, accountable guidelines for employers of under 16 year old workers that recognises the inherent vulnerability of this workforce and provides for their protection from potential exploitation or mistreatment. Thank you for your consideration of these submissions.
John Hancock Senior Solicitor YouthLaw Tino Rangatiratanga Taitamariki
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