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‘You’re stuffed’: vulnerable young workers exploited

Getty

Getty

‘Unscrupulous’ bosses are persistently taking advantage of young Australians, who are vulnerable because of an enormous power imbalance, experts warn.

On Tuesday, the Fair Work Ombudsman cracked down on a Sydney employer for underpaying an 18-year-old hairdresser the equivalent of $400 a month in wages and benefits, totalling $6471.

The Lattouf Hair and Day Spa in Castle Hill has been told to reimburse the young apprentice and pay a fine triple the amount it withheld ($20,400), with former owner Jack Younes also fined $4080.

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The case is not isolated, with underpayment of “vulnerable” young workers a “persistent issue” in a range of industries, said a spokesman for the Ombudsman.

“For young workers, every cent counts,” added the spokesman, who assured The New Daily that the issue is taken “very seriously”.

The problem is not restricted to lost wages, as young employees can be reticent to raise problems with their supervisors and can lack experience dealing with stressful situations, as reported by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, giving bosses the clear upper hand.

Money talks, and the young have none

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Parents, Fair Work, the unions and youth affairs groups can help fight workplace exploitation. Photo: Shutterstock

Slater and Gordon principal Andrew Rich, a specialist in industrial and employment law, says his firm is rarely able to help younger workers because they simply cannot afford legal assistance.

“They have less money to be able to afford to enforce their rights, so the reality is that they don’t often come to people like me,” Mr Rich said.

Instead, these workers rely on free services paid for by the government, many of which face defunding “at various points in the political cycle”, leaving them even more at risk.

Young people should stand up for themselves, said Mr Rich, but it is rarely so easy.

Last year, university student Sarah McKeon told SmartCompany that a Melbourne gym owed her $1500 in annual leave.

When Ms McKeon asked her former boss for the money, he reportedly dismissed her as “just a young girl” who could do nothing to recoup the money, which proved true.

With little time or money, the young woman reportedly chose to take no further action.

The business, World Gym Sunshine, was eventually fined almost $42,000 for exploiting another young female employee, but has escaped the penalty by going into liquidation.

Unaware of their rights

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Young workers in the poultry are often underpaid, a union alleges. Photo: Getty

Over the past 15 years, successive governments have slowly dismantled industrial rights, a union official claims, eroding the position of young workers and leaving them without a voice.

The young are also becoming less aware of their rights and how to enforce them, a National Union of Workers (NUW) spokesman said.

“It’s becoming a generational thing,” NUW Victorian branch secretary Gary Maas said.

“They are unaware that they do have rights in the workplace, and they are unaware that unions can advocate very strongly on their behalf. Once they do find that out, that’s where the situation can improve.”

Sub-contracted workers, females and migrants are the young Australians most at risk, said Mr Maas. Many of these workers are paid for work produced rather than an hourly rate, which can amount to as little as $3 or $4 an hour.

Exploitation is particularly “rife” in the poultry industry, he said, because the big retailers exert pressure down through the supply chain to cut costs.

“You might be female, a migrant or young, and if you are in all three of those categories, you’re stuffed.”

Young workers are advised to contact the Fair Work Ombudsman, a union or a youth affairs organisation if they feel they are being exploited.

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