Media Statement - 20th September 2005
Today John Howard has said that his extreme industrial relations changes will:
Include a requirement that the minimum wages for trainees be set by the Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) at levels that ensure they are competitive in the labour market.
This is John Howard code for slashing the wages of Australian
apprentices. This is a long standing policy obsession and the
Prime Minister has form on this issue.
Since coming to office the Howard/Costello Government has opposed every
minimum wage increase awarded by the Australian Industrial Relations
Commission. If the Government's submissions had been accepted,
workers on the Minimum Wage would be $50 a week or $2600 a year worse
off. Had the Government had its way since 1997, the minimum wage
would have decreased in real terms by 1.55%.
This is a proposal from John Howard, who in 1992 said he wanted to see
a "dramatically lower minimum wage for young people" and proposed that
the youth minimum wage be reduced from $8.50 to $3.00 an hour.
John Howard's proposal outlined today puts at risk apprentices' pay and
conditions and will force Australia down the low skills, low wages road.
For example, a 1st year carpentry apprentice in South Australia
currently earns around $308 a week under the award but $471 a week
under an enterprise agreement. The Howard Government's so-called Fair
Pay Commission will only guarantee the current minimum award rates.
Apprentices are already being 'offered' Australian Workplace Agreements
with all up rates of $6.90 an hour working a 40 hour week, including
sick pay, penalty rates and other allowances.
A recent study by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research
highlighted that low wages contribute to young people failing to
complete an apprenticeship.
With a staggering 40 per cent of apprentices currently withdrawing from
apprenticeships, Australian businesses desperate for more skilled
workers need this new assault on apprentice wages like 'a hole in the
head'.
Australian apprentices should see the move to have their wages and
conditions set by the so-called "Fair Pay Commission" for what it is:
yet another attempt to strip their wages in real terms.
Only a Government that is totally out of touch would think that an apprentice can make ends meet earning such a pittance.