CHILD LABOUR CASE BACK IN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION

2 November 2007

The next step in ensuring children are protected in the workplace will be taken today when the SA Child Labour Award case returns to the South Australian Industrial Commission later today.

In June this year, SA Unions won a landmark case to protect children from workplace exploitation.

In a major breakthrough for young workers and unions, the SA Industrial Relations Commission gave the go ahead for tough new child labour laws.

"Workchoices doesn't provide any protection from exploitation for children.

"Until now there has been nothing to stop young children working unsupervised, overnight shifts in dangerous environments with no penalty payments."

"This is especially important since the introduction of Workchoices, which gives employers the power to employ children on inferior and unfair conditions."

Today is the first step to make an award to protect children regardless of the industry in which they are working.

"We need comprehensive protections for all children regardless of the work they are doing", SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles says.

A comprehensive Child Labour Award would establish South Australia as a national leader in the protection of young workers.

Its key elements include :

• A standard minimum wage according to age, and severance pay entitlements
• Banning tasks which present health and safety risks, including agricultural and construction work
• Prohibiting the employment of children in indecent, obscene or pornographic ways
• Prohibiting indecent or transparent clothing, or working nude or partially nude
• Children under 16 banned from unsupervised deliveries to private residences
• Limiting hours of employment for children in formal education or training
• Children under 15 banned from working between 6 pm and 6 am
• Child workers must be supervised by an adult, who has responsibility for no more than 3 children at the same time
• Restrictions on shifts, overtime and roster changes
• Minimum leave entitlements as set down in the Fair Work Act
• Provision of safe transport arrangements between home and work
• Employers to maintain an employment register and ensure that children receive proper payment as stipulated by the award, not substituted by goods and services
• Access for unions to advise and support children in relation to their work rights
• A grievance and dispute process which enables access to the IRC

"It is frankly astonishing that we have not had tighter protections prior to this", Ms Giles says.

The award will not apply to children working in family businesses.

We will be asking the Industrial Relations Commission to instruct SA Unions, Business SA and the South Australian Government to begin negotiations on the shape of the award.

The resumption of this hearing follows the release of the Industrial Relations Commission Inquiry into Workchoices which highlighted the difficulties faced by young workers and in particular the sense of resignation and disempowerment of young workers when their employment depended on signing an AWA.

This experience was reinforced by the release yesterday of the Annual Report of the Young Workers Legal Service which reported a big increase in enquiries since Workchoices, highlighting the lack of bargaining power young people have in the workplace.