Coles employee slams ‘crazy and unfair’ rule that sees her paid less than colleagues

A Coles employee has explained the frustrating reality of Australia’s youth rewards policy. While Australia has a minimum wage rule to ensure the country’s lowest-paid workers can afford basic necessities, people under 20 are subject to even lower pay.

The national minimum wage for full-time or part-time workers is currently $23.23 an hour, and casual workers receive this amount plus 25 percent of the base on top. That number gradually decreases depending on your age, and Coles supervisor Gabbi Colloff says it’s unfair.

“We are recognized by the government as legal adults. We can vote, we can buy cigarettes, you can buy alcohol, but why are we not recognized as adults in our salary,” said the young man from 19 years old. A current affair.

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In her role, Colloff manages several employees who are older than her and, as a result, receive more money than her, despite being younger.

She will have to wait another year until she receives the same salary as her older counterparts.

How much do young people earn in Australia?

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the amount of money you earn depends on your age and whether you are employed full-time, part-time or casual.

These rates are expected to increase on July 1, as is the national minimum wage, by 3.75 percent.

Fair Work decides whether to increase employees’ minimum wages and by how much each year. He said cost-of-living pressures faced by employees in awarded salaries were his “primary factor” in determining the level of increase.

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But companies have different approaches to when adult pay takes effect.

For Coles and Woolworths, workers aged 20 and over can receive adult pay, while people who work at Bunnings can access adult pay at 18.

Lobbying to abolish junior salaries in Australia

There is a major campaign to make junior salaries a thing of the past in Australia.

According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), more than 61 per cent of staff in the fast food industry across the country are on low wages, while more than 30 per cent of workers in Broadcasting, Recorded Entertainment and Cinemas Award 2020 are also juniors.

ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell said it was high time young people received the same pay as their adult counterparts for the same work because the current rules are “unfair”.

“So many young people work as hard as everyone else in the workplace, but are paid sometimes half, sometimes 60, sometimes 70 percent of what a full adult makes,” Mitchell explained.

“It’s ridiculous… an 18-year-old retail worker would have to work 55 hours a week just to earn the same full-time salary as an adult.

“It’s crazy that a 17-year-old waitress gets paid almost $10 less an hour than her counterpart at the same cafe, even though they do the same job.”

He said young people are subject to the same prices for rent, groceries and other necessities as Australians aged 21 and over, so why shouldn’t they receive the same pay?

Small Businesses Could Be Broken by Changing the Rules

But getting rid of junior salaries could cause big problems for small businesses.

Manly Fish Market owner Andrew Hill said it was hard enough to keep the lights on at the moment with the rising cost of living. But if he had to pay more money to younger staff, it could break him.

“If we have other overhead costs that we suddenly have to cover … that will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he said. A current affair.

“If I have to pay a child as much as an adult, I might as well employ the adult because they generally bring much more experience.”

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