New push to SCRAP the minimum wage to ‘provide dignity’ to workers – as it’s revealed Australia’s entry level jobs pay the highest in the world
- The Institute of Public Affairs wants $19.49 minimum wage to be scrapped
- The IPA says low-paid work provides young Australians with skills and dignity
- More than 250,000 Australians aged between 15 and 24 are now unemployed
A new push is underway to abolish the minimum wage after it was revealed entry level jobs in Australia are paid the highest in the world.
The Institute of Public Affairs, a free market think tank, believes low paid work is extremely beneficial for young workers as it provides them with the skills needed for future employment.
The IPA wants the $19.49 an hour minimum wage to be abolished, claiming low-paid work provides ‘dignity’ to unskilled workers.
The Institute of Public Affairs are calling for the minimum wage rate to be abolished, claiming low paid work provides workers with life experience and dignity (file image)
‘Low-paid work equips workers with important experience, builds transferable skills, demonstrates a willingness to work and provides references and contacts for future work opportunities,’ the IPA said.
IPA research fellow Kurt Wallace said that low paid work gave young Australians a sense of purpose, and helped them become financially independent.
‘Australia’s high minimum wage and restrictive labour regulation undermines the ability of young people to enter the workforce and experience the dignity of work,’ he said.
IPA modelling suggested almost two-thirds of workers on the minimum wage moved to higher paid jobs within two years.
Mr Wallace said higher labour costs made it harder for unskilled workers to find a job, arguing this resulted in 38 per cent of 15-19-year-old Australians not working as 250,000 people, aged 15 to 24, were unemployed.
The current minimum wage rate of $19.49 is believed to provide workers with skills that will help them gain future employment (file image)
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus has described the IPA’s idea as ‘appalling’.
‘Ideas like this are fundamentally unfair and would drive our country into recession. The only thing keeping wage increases in line with inflation are our minimum wages system and the pay rises won by unions,’ she said.
More than two millions Australians received a pay rise last month after the Fair Work Commission increased the minimum wage by three per cent.
It rose from $18.93 to $19.49 an hour, or $740.80 a week.