Unions campaign for adult wages at age 18

Australia’s biggest trade union is seeking to abolish junior rates of pay for anyone over 18 years of age.

A spokesperson from the Shops, Distributive, and Allied Employees Association says that New Zealand has been paying 18 years olds adult rates for over a decade and it is time for Australia to catch up.

Joe de Bruyn, SDA’s national secretary, says that the ‘100% Pay at 18’ campaign is about achieving equal pay for equal work and should have nothing but positive effects.

“This is not going to send companies broke, and this is why it has been successful in New Zealand. It’s been absorbed by the employers, there’s been no impact on employment, so we can’t see why the same thing can’t done in Australia in 2013.”