Douglas Drafts Bill To Reintroduce Youth Wage

Press Release by Hon Sir Roger Douglas, ACT New Zealand
Thursday, February 11 2010

If the Government is ‘always willing to listen to good ideas’ over youth unemployment, as Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson said yesterday, then I expect the Government to support my Minimum Wage (Mitigating Youth Unemployment) Amendment Bill and put a stop to soaring youth unemployment rates, ACT New Zealand MP Sir Roger Douglas said today.

"The statistics speak for themselves. Since Labour abolished youth rates in 2008, unemployment for 15-19 year-olds has almost doubled. Almost two out of five young Maori are out of jobs. Our young people cannot get jobs, cannot get work experience and cannot start contributing to our economy as they are priced out of the market. It’s criminal," Sir Roger said.

"My Bill will reintroduce the capability for the Government to set different rates for youth workers. This will ensure that young people do not have to compete against more experienced and skilled workers at an equal wage for the same job. It will provide them with more job opportunities.

"Many employers were only willing to hire youth workers at lower rates because it was necessary to train them. Today, that is not happening, and many young people are not developing a work ethic. This will likely create further problems later on down the track."

"The idea that high minimum wages cause job losses isn’t new – in fact, surveys reveal that over 70 percent of economists agree with that statement. Who are you going to trust, the experts in their field, or Labour Party politicians whose main interest is votes, not jobs?

"National knows that the abolition of youth rates has hurt young people – that is why they voted against it. The question is: does National have the guts to fix it now it is in Government?" Sir Roger said.

For a copy of the Minimum Wage (Mitigating Youth Unemployment) Amendment Bill visit www.act.org.nz

ENDS

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