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There is a number of Internet sources which supply information on youth employment generally and on the Australian situation in particular. Most of these sites make specific reference to the question of youth wage rates. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) produced an international Jobs Study in May, 1995. This includes a major subsection on removing barriers to job creation. This section includes an overview on attempts worldwide to reduce the cost of youth labor, including the introduction of youth wages. Specific reference is made to the Australian situation. This is interesting both because it allows for international comparisons and because it describes the Australian situation prior to the election of a Coalition government. The overview can be found at http://www.oecd.org/sge/min/chp3_dis.htm The Australian Youth Policy and Action Coalition (AYPAC) is an association of some thirty youth organisations including Guides Australia, Scouts Australia, Kids Help Line, Fusion Australia and the YWCA. The organisation develops policy positions on youth issues and acts as an education and lobby group. The AYPAC home page can be found at http://www.aypac.org.au/ AYPAC produced a very useful submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) Junior Rates Inquiry. The six page submission explains what junior wage rates currently are; outlines what proportion of the workforce receives them and indicates the extent to which they would remain in effect even if it is legislated that junior wages should not discriminate against young people. The submission outlines the case put by the government in support of junior wage rates and argues against this case on a point by point basis. It also gives a summary of other major arguments offered against junior wages. The AYPAC submission concludes with a detailed overview of United States research apparently indicating that increasing wage rates for young people does not threaten their employment. The AYPAC submission can be found at http://www.aypac.org.au/library/emp_train/jnr_rates_sub.html The question of youth wages has been treated extensively in the Australian print media. Some of this coverage has been reproduced on the Internet. The Sydney Morning Herald printed an article on September 11, 1998. It is titled, Fur flies on youth pay rates and reports on the political point scoring between the Coalition Government and the Labor Opposition with regard to their respective policies on youth wages. The article notes that the Opposition does not simply want young people paid at adult rates, rather it favours pay rates based on experience and competence. The article can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/9809/11/text/pageone4.html On November 27, 1998, The Sydney Morning Herald published an analysis titled, 200,000 juniors face pay cut. The article, written by Tom Allard, details the current range of pay rates available to those under 21 and indicates whose wages might be cut in the event of the Coalition Government being able to implement its youth wages policy. The analysis can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/9811/27/text/pageone1.html On March 3, 1999, the Australian Financial Review published an article titled Discount youth pay rate at risk. It was written by Katherine Murphy. It treats the probable defeat of the Government's youth wages bill in the Senate and gives some background to the Democrat's opposition to that bill. The article can be found at http://www.eden-network.org.au/07_news/discount_5mar.htm On March 9, 1999, The Sydney Morning Herald published an article which largely detailed the Government's Workplace Relations Minister, Mr Peter Reith's response to the defeat of his youth wages bill in the Senate. The article is titled Discount youth pay rate at risk and can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/9903/09/breaking1/news2.html On March 10, 1999, The Sydney Morning Herald's editorial, Beazley's blinkers, considered the recent defeat in the Senate of the Government's youth wages bill. The editorial argues that the Government's youth wages bill should have passed the Senate and criticises the Opposition for backward-looking policies. The editorial can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/9903/10/text/editorial.html Also on March 10, 1999, The Daily Telegraph published an editorial titled, A victim of politics. The editorial defends the Government's youth wages bill as a means of promoting youth employment and is critical of the degree of influence exerted by independent senators such as Mr Brian Harradine. The editorial can be found at http://www.news.com.au/nsw/4297630.htm |