Examples of lack of care for safety of young people (15-17) working – three cases

• A 15 year old girl employed in a fast-food shop, was given a bucket containing caustic soda by the owner and asked to clean the ovens. The employer failed to inform her of the contents of the bucket and did not provide her with necessary training or adequate protective gear. She suffered burns to her body and required hospital treatment which the employer agreed to pay. However, the employer found the bill amounting to $99 was “excessive” and refused to give her any more shifts. The employer alleged the accident was her fault. JobWatch also found that she had been underpaid by 50% and that the employer had no insurance. (JobWatch Annual Report 2006-2007)
• In October 2004, a 16 year old lost three fingertips after they were crushed in a press at Conditionaire International, based in Miranda, south Sydney. The NSW Industrial Relations Commission found that the company had provided inadequate supervision and training to the 16 year old who had been working at the company for just four months. (WorkCover NSW, 2006, WorkCover News: The Workplace safety and injury magazine)
• In December 2001, 16-year-old asthma sufferer Dwayne Doyle had commenced work at a family company called MA Coleman Joinery, located in Lidcombe in Sydney’s west.  Whilst at work, four colleagues attacked him and wrapped him in cling wrap from neck to feet. His shoes and bag were then filled with sawdust and he was placed on a work trolley. The men then covered him with sawdust and squirted wood glue in his shoes, over his body and into his mouth. Dwayne coughed and choked and was unable to breathe. The director of the business knew that this ‘initiation’ would occur but failed to prevent it. The employees responsible for the incident were not disciplined. The NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate found that the business had failed to adequately supervise or train its employees. (Court punishes employers on workplace bullying, The Australian, 2004)

Before the introduction of recent changes to the industrial relations framework by the previous Commonwealth Government (WorkChoices), research, including studies undertaken by Job Watch in 2004, identified that young workers were more vulnerable and liable to exploitation in the workplace, and required additional protection. A survey, also in 2004, of 599 young people under the age of 25, from 278 individual fast food outlets found that 25% of participants did not receive a 30 minute break after working for five hours continuously. 53% of respondents said they worked longer than an 8 hour shift and 32% worked shifts of 11 hours or more in duration. 10% of respondents said they were paid below the legal minimum wage and 43% did not know if they were receiving the legal minimum pay.

Apart from work undertaken by Job Watch, there is little information available regarding the compliance of Victorian employers with Federal and Victorian (Common Rule) Award terms and conditions of employment.

The Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania compiled research for a submission to the Inquiry into the impact of the federal government’s Work Choices legislation on workers and employers in the Victorian retail and hospitality industries that was conducted by the Office of the Workplace Rights Advocate. This research highlighted that the kinds of incidents outlined here, and issues such as underpayment and lack of meal breaks are not uncommon in Victoria.

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