Youth Rates, Yay or Nay?
 

What do you think about the introduction of Youth Rates? In New Zealand they are trying to apply this bill for 15-24 year-old's to receive lower pay for doing the same job as someone older. It is age discrimination IMO, this would not be accepted by society if pay was determined by sex, race or disability. I've posted some details in case you've not heard of this type of thing.


Article:

The Government is not ruling out a return to lower rates for young workers.

Prime Minister John Key this month indicated National would campaign on further changes to labour laws - and did not rule out reinstating a youth minimum wage.

Now Employment Minister Kate Wilkinson, asked about the issue, said the Government would look at options to help younger people into work.

"We're particularly concerned about the number of youth who simply aren't able to find jobs, especially first jobs," she said.

"While the employment rate for those 20 and over is improving, this isn't happening for teenagers and we're taking a close look at what sort of policies will help them get the work experience they need.

Labour youth affairs spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern today said it made no sense to pay younger workers less than others for doing the same job.

"There's no value or justification at all in simply getting rid of older workers and replacing them with cheaper young workers. That's just transferring the unemployment problem."

Youth unemployment was a problem - 27 per cent of those aged 15-19 were not in training or jobs, she said. But back in the 1990s youth rates had no impact on unemployment.

"And they won't bring levels down now. The lowest levels in recent times were under Labour when youth wages were abolished."

Green Party MP Gareth Hughes said youth rates would mean a pay cut for those already employed.

"A move to bring back discriminatory rates of pay will see young New Zealanders flocking across the Tasman," he said.

He said the Government had failed to address unemployment and more needed to be done to improve training and opportunities.

It sounds like bullsh*t to me as well. Equal pay for equal work. This is to tantamount to hiring illegal immigrants at a lower wage here in the US. If an employer can hire younger people at a lower wage, there is no incentive for fair hiring practices.

This is blatant ageism, I think. It could also turn out that an older person who does a worse job than the younger person is making more money.

That's exactly what the government will do, hire unskilled immigrants to do jobs that belong to Kiwi's. Most young people won't take this lying down and will go to Australia where they are valued for their efforts. It will also shaft older people onto the unemployment benefit as business's will hire cheap young people to do the work instead. The National Government is looking for a way to cut wages and Prime minister John Key (who is also a successful businessman) wants cheap labour for his business buddies that keep him in Parliament. It's sick, particular because over 150 people in Christchurch have lost jobs to the February 22nd earthquake.

I don't have a problem with all forms of discriminations (affirmative action for example), but this just seems like a policy that would juggle problems instead of solve them. If the issue is finding jobs for youth, why not offer tax programs rather than bring pay inequality?

Some government seem big on juggling around problems so that they look good on paper instead of trying to fix the root of the problem in a different way.

One thing about immigrant workers in the states though, the same jobs that most americans complain that they are taking from them. Americans are too high and might to ever stoop to the level of doing some of the jobs that immigrant workers do so they need to stfu with that.

I'm working at a restaurant right now, and alot of the older people there don't even have to do some of the more unpleasant parts of the job (taking out trash, dishwasher, etc.) that the younger people are supposed to do. So no, I don't think there should be a pay difference based on age.

Also, anal beads was funny when dirt did it. Not you.

If NZ is anything like England you have a pretty high youth unemployment rate, and an economy that is struggling. Lowering the wage for under 18s for example, means that companies can afford to employ more young people which gets them off of unemployment benefits (taking out of the system) and gets them to pay taxes (putting money back in). Cheap labour means more gets done, aka a rise in productivity. And a rise in productivity usually leads to a rise in profits, which then means companies can offer more jobs and the cycle leads to more people with jobs paying taxes, and therefore a much healthier national economy.

It might not be fair, and is most likely ageist. But in this day and age with the current world economy governments are going to have to do whatever they can to get out of debt, and having young people drain national resources because they are having trouble finding work isnt going to help anything.

I say yay. Fuck the youth and the iPods they rode in on.

You're a bitter old man.

Let the kids work. This just gives kids that already have a **** it all attitude more of an excuse not to work. I say, on the off-chance you actually do get a young kid who's willing to bust his ass to get ahead, let him do it.