Junior rates driven by "greed" not "jobs" —
The Government is relentlessly pursuing plans to entrench junior pay rates.

The Government's attempt to side-step the Industrial Relations 
Commission Inquiry into Junior Rates of Pay and ram through Parliament 
legislation that would entrench youth wages was knocked back by the Senate 
last week.

"The issue has backfired badly on Minister Reith who has been under 
pressure from employers to push through legislation that would deliver a 
massive pay cut to many young workers", said the ACTU.

"What united the Government and employer groups in this debate is greed, 
not the crocodile tears that they shed over youth unemployment", said ACTU 
Youth Representative Tim Ayres.

Late last year the Government broke an agreement made in 1996 with the 
Democrats that the issue of junior pay would be determined by the 
Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC).

The AIRC was asked to conduct a review and is due to report its findings on 
June 22 this year.

The agreement was part of the compromise made by the Democrats that enabled 
Reith to get his anti-union Workplace Relations Bill through the Senate.

But Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith renegged, announcing on 
November 17 last year that the Government would pass legislation to 
maintain junior rates — ignoring and pre-empting the AIRC inquiry!

The Senate last week voted against passing any legislation until the AIRC 
delivers its findings in June.

The Government says it will put the same legislation to the Senate again 
after June.

Democrats Industrial Relations spokesperson Senator Andrew Murray told 
The Guardian he believed that the Government was seeking to use the 
issue as a double dissolution trigger, by forcing the Bill to be rejected a 
second time.

After Reith's Bill was rejected by the Senate last week, Reith defended 
himself by saying there had been "no deal" with the Democrats on junior 
rates.

Senator Murray said Reith's denial "really gets my gall". "I am finding the 
rising shrillness of Peter Reith's doctoring of the truth adds to my 
growing lack of faith in any agreement or assurance entered into by this 
Government", he said.

The Government still has no intention of making employers recognise the 
skill and experience of young workers and pay them full rates for the job.

To the Government, junior rates are to be used to drive down adult wages by 
providing employers with an "alternative" cheap labour force.

There is no evidence for the Government's argument that youth unemployment 
is connected to wages. The available evidence suggests the contrary.

Junior pay rates is not about solving youth unemployment, it is about 
keeping down wages.