Labour Mapping out pathway and spin for discriminating against young workers

Hone Harawira; Maori Party Youth Affairs Spokesperson

Monday 2 July 2007

The Maori Party says that the Youth Rates Bill, as rewritten by Labour, has been watered down so much that it’s hard to tell the difference now between their version and the infamous 90 day Probationary Bill sponsored by National MP, Wayne Mapp.

“When National’s Bill got dumped last year, Labour MP Mark Gosche said “On the Labour side of the House we do not believe that workers who go into a new job should have all their rights removed for the first 90 days” said Hone Harawira, Youth Affairs spokesperson for the Maori Party, “and yet here we are, just six months later, and Labour’s proposing a ‘new entrants minimum rate” of 80% of the adult wage for the first 200 hours of employment’”

“So much for protecting workers rights.”

“Labour’s changed the words from ‘probationary period’ to ‘new entrants’ but the deal is the same,” said Harawira, “it discriminates against young people, the same as National.”

“And because of our growing youth statistics, it’s Maori and Pasifika kids that’ll get shafted first.”

“It’s interesting too that this new bill has come out at the same time as Labour’s Kiwisaver kicks in” said Harawira. “Seems like Labour had to do a deal to keep the employers happy, but it’s sad to see that it’s young people who get sacrificed to make Kiwisaver work”.

“Hopefully next week’s Youth Parliament rips into the government over this.”

“From what we can see, this Bill will actually increase hardship for first-time workers,” said Harawira. “We opposed Wayne Mapp’s ‘New Slave Bill’, and we won’t be supporting Labour’s ‘Young Slave Bill’ either.”

Note: The report from the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee regarding the Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Amendment Bill is likely to come back to the House for a second reading on 25 July.

ENDS

© Scoop Media