If a report on youth employment released by Unions ACT on Monday is to be believed many Canberra employers have no qualms about ripping off some of the already lowest paid and most vulnerable workers in our community.
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According to the study, which surveyed workers aged between 15 and 25, more than three quarters of the respondents said they had been underpaid.
More than half reported having to work for free on so-called trial shifts before they were offered paid employment.
With youth unemployment in the ACT running at more than 11 per cent compared to just 3.5 per cent for adults, the competition for entry level jobs in hospitality and tourism and retail and sales is intense amongst high school students, school leavers and university students.
Wages for under 21s are already so low one can only wonder what, if any, moral compass guides bosses who won't pay the going rate and insist on workers doing unpaid shifts.
An under 16-year-old, for example, is entitled to just $6.73 per hour or 36.8 per cent of the national minimum wage. This rises to $8.70 after a young person's 16th birthday, $10.57 when they turn 17, $12.49 for 18-year-olds and $15.09 at 19.
The full adult rate, of $18.29 an hour, does not kick in until a worker turns 21.
Over 21s are not immune from abuse with many saying they had been asked to accept below award payments as well as being subjected to bullying and other forms of abuse.
Coming as it does at a time when many workers have lost their Sunday loading or had it reduced, the report suggests the existence of a "beggars can't be choosers" mentality.
A young person confronted with demands to accept below par wage rates and work shifts for free would be acutely aware that if they don't take the deal then somebody else will.
It is unacceptable, given we have seen almost 200 years of progress on workers rights, for young men and women to be exploited in this way.
The facile argument, trotted out by almost every boss who gets busted for breaches of this nature, that they are doing young workers a favour by giving them on-the-job experience, doesn't hold up.
Junior wage rates already take the lack of experience into account. This is why they are discounted down from the adult pay scale.
The real reason employers in Canberra and elsewhere do this is the same as it has always been. Because they can get away with it, and many young people are reluctant to demand their full entitlements.
Underpayment scandals involving companies such as 7-11 nationally and nail salons across Canberra suggest the exploitation of young workers is part of a broader pattern of misconduct.
While many businesses treat their workers fairly, some in fact paying beyond what they are entitled to, clearly many are not. Our young people deserve better.
