Labor's industrial relations plan: young workers protected

Howard's IR laws have cut the take home pay and conditions of working Australians. Young people have been hit particularly hard.

If Mr Howard and the Liberals are re-elected, they will take their unfair individual AWAs further. More and more young people will have to negotiate one on one with their employer.

Under Labor, young people will get a fair go at work with a real safety net of conditions. Labor will also develop a Young Workers' Toolkit to ensure young workers know their rights.

Added 8 months ago

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Hi, I'm Julia Gillard, Labor's Deputy Leader.

I'm here to tell you about Labor's plan for fairness at work for young Australians.

Mr Howard's unfair WorkChoices laws have hit young people hard.

These laws have taken the balance out of our workplaces.

When you start your first job, you can have very little bargaining power.

You can be placed in the situation of having to sign an agreement you may not understand.

As a young worker, you may not know about your rights when you start working, or you may be worried about your job security if you speak up against unfair treatment at work.

Labor has a plan to ensure young workers have fairness at work.

Our plan for the future includes a strong safety net for young workers that cannot be undermined, guaranteeing conditions like hours of work, minimum pay, proper rostering and conditions like penalty rates.

We will protect you against unfair dismissal.

As a young person moving into the workforce, you're faced with many challenges and even more questions.

Our new umpire, Fair Work Australia, will be a one-stop shop for the help and information you need.

Labor will develop a Young Workers Toolkit to provide the information that is relevant to you.

The toolkit will be available from places like TAFEs, Centrelink, Fair Work Australia, and the internet.

Currently protection for young workers varies from state to state.

Labor will work to develop a national code of practice for young workers.

Please log on to alp.org.au to read more about our policies

to bring fairness and balance to Australian workplaces, or visit kevin07.com.au to find out about our efforts

in the campaign to provide new leadership for Australia.

Thanks for your time.

• Forward with Fairness for Australia's Young Workers