Youth rates are unfair and won’t work.

Youth rates are unfair. It is wrong to pay workers on the basis of their age. Workers should be paid on the basis of their work and their skills. New Zealand has a minimum wage for a reason, lowering it will lead to poverty and exploitation. All New Zealand workers should have the same minimum wage.

• Youth rates will not solve youth unemployment and will lock older people out of work.
• Youth rates will drive many young people into poverty. Most young workers face the same living costs as other working people. Young people can’t ask for a 20% discount on their rent, food or power costs.
• Youth rates are a race to the bottom. The current New Zealand minimum wage is already a struggle to live on. Youth rates will drag down all other wages, creating barriers for wage growth for older workers. New Zealand needs to grow wages and not become a low wage country that creates poverty amongst our next generation.
• Youth rates don’t invest in the next generation. Every young person should be able to transition from school into work, further education or training. The Government needs to invest in apprenticeships, job placements, support for young job seekers, and access to further education.

The Government is placing the burden of their failure to create jobs on society’s youngest and most vulnerable.

We are campaigning against this law change.