Whether your first job was working a maccas drive through or packing groceries at your nearest woolies. It’s extremely common for young Australians to start their employment working part time/casual roles in retail, pharmacy and fast food industries. These jobs provide a worker with valuable skills and experience as well as being a stepping stone for personal and professional growth. Along with the consistent work and flexible nature of these jobs it’s not uncommon for young people to stay in these roles past teenage years and into their early adulthood. 

We know that becoming an adult means you start to face many societal obligations that you previously didn’t, as well as facing the same cost-of-living pressures as all other adults. 

However, under current conditions, young workers aged 18 to 20 in these jobs, though legally considered adults, receive significantly lower “junior” rates of pay compared to workers over 21. So the question is, if young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 are going to be treated the same in every other sense, why aren’t they paid equally? 

Monday Drive spoke with Mark Buttigieg, a member of the NSW Parliament upper house and the parliamentary secretary for industrial relations, he has also been a vocal supporter of the “Adult Age, Adult Wage” campaign led by the SDA.

The “Adult Age, Adult Wage” campaign led by the SDA is a major initiative aimed at ending unfair wage practices affecting young adult workers in the retail, pharmacy, and fast-food industries. You can show your support for the campaign by signing their petition.