Young workers do important and essential jobs that keep our economy running. Throughout the pandemic young people have kept working in environments of high stress and risk to keep our community safe and functioning.
But young workers aren’t treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. Instead, young people are having their wages stolen, being bullied and harassed at work, subjected to unsafe work practices and being offered little to no job security.
The system is broken and bosses have too much power and control. Insecure work means that you can’t rely on getting shifts or control when you work. This insecurity impacts your ability to stand up for your rights and to balance work, study and social life. Young workers are stressed and fed up.
Insecure jobs for young workers gives bad bosses the power to steal wages, unfairly exploit our goodwill and hard work for their profit while not respecting our rights, and force young workers to work in unsafe conditions.
Rampant wage theft and exploitation by some bad bosses makes it harder and harder for good bosses to do the right thing, forcing a race to the bottom in the industries that employ young workers. And it’s us as young workers who pay the cost.
We’re not trying to get rid of casual work, just make sure that work is only casual when appropriate and working casually doesn’t mean we’re ripped off and unsafe at work.
Young workers need better protections at work to help stop the rampant exploitation they face because of insecure work.
Sign* our petition below (fill in your details and hit the orange button) to demand action to make Canberra workplaces fair and secure for young workers in Canberra. We want to hold bad bosses to account.
*We won’t pass on your name and details without your express permission
Authorised by M. Harrison, UnionsACT, 40 Brisbane Avenue, Barton, 2600
