Young Workers Centre

The Young Workers Centre educates young workers about their safety and workplace rights, and empowers them to resolve issues in the workplace. Based in Victorian Trades Hall, we educate young people as they enter the workforce via our training programs, which are available to all Victorian high schools, TAFEs and technical colleges. We assist young people to resolve workplace issues through our legal service designed exclusively for young workers. We empower young people to use their collective voice by driving campaigns on key issues for young people at work.

New Campaign Campaigns

  • General Pants Co.: Opt us into JobKeeper
    Young, casual workers are too often exploited. This is a company wide issue impacting 100's of casuals workers, many of whom are young. This is a common story, a few weeks ago we heard a similar story from Cotton On workers and now I'm telling you about my experience at General Pants Co. Sadly young workers are missing out on the JobKeeper payment that is designed to help workers like us through this health crisis. We need this money to pay our bills. Young workers are hanging on by a thread. I'm calling on General Pants Co. to opt us into the JobKeeper wage subsidy. Please send a message to that this is not on.
    5,957 of 6,000 Signatures
    Created by Wendy, General Pants Co. worker
  • Tell General Pants Co: Long term casuals deserve JobKeeper!
    There are hundreds of General Pants staff across Australia who are missing out on JobKeeper, despite being eligible according to the Australian Tax Office.  These workers are long term casuals, with regular shifts and patterns of employment. Some of these workers have worked at General Pants Co for six years. This is a common story, a few weeks ago we heard a similar story from Cotton On workers and David Jones. Both of those companies have now included all eligible casual workers. Why haven’t General Pants Co? We've set-up this action so you can email CEO Sacha Laing directly, letting him know you support these workers and that he should too.
    924 of 1,000 Signatures
  • We need wage theft laws - now!
    Right now, some businesses are exploiting young workers. Instead of contributing to our community, they’re stealing from vulnerable young people, and conditioning them for a life of exploitation. I was one of those young workers. I worked for a year at a cafe in Camberwell, just outside of the Melbourne CBD. During my time there, I was classified as a part-time worker. That means I should have had regular shifts and access to paid annual and sick leave - but instead I was treated as a casual, at the cafe's beck and call, and had no access to paid leave. Over $8000 in wages and $700 in superannuation were withheld from me by my boss in just a year - and it took months of negotiations and a review of my full roster history to get the wages I claimed backpaid to me. I'm just one of thousands. Wage theft is an epidemic. At least a fifth of young workers have reported that their hard-earned wages have been stolen from them in scams; they are paid for fewer hours than they work, are illegally denied correct pay, have their superannuation stolen or their accrued leave withheld. All these forms of wage theft are against the law, but they still happen. Bosses know that they’ll only receive fines or warnings if they get caught- and that they're not likely to get caught. A series of audits by Fair Work in 2016 revealed that almost 58% of hospitality businesses (cafes and restaurants) and 39% of retail businesses were stealing wages. That’s potentially hundreds of thousands of cases of wage theft! But only a fraction of these cases ever end up in court. It shows that the current legal system is stacked in favour of bad employers who choose to underpay workers to increase their profits.
    20,036 of 25,000 Signatures
    Created by Jordan Waters
  • Mecca workers deserve safe workplaces
    I'm one of dozens of current and former Mecca employees that have been on the receiving end of bullying, intimidation, discrimination and favouritism whilst working in their store. After just a few weeks of working at Mecca I began to dread going to work. I was bullied and ridiculed by managers over trivial issues, often on the shop floor in front of customers. After a month and a half I raised concerns with my line manager about the bullying I was experiencing, and shortly after I was fired from Mecca. Mecca Brands have been named the fourth best place to work in 2019 but the façade as the greatest place to work is not the case. Mecca workers, most of whom are young women in their 20s, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Mecca has a legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment and they are falling well short. The problem must be fixed from the top. Jo Horgan can fix this problem. She can weed out bullying and discriminatory behaviour and put an end to it. The community is now watching to see that workers have a safe and discrimination-free workplace. Mecca workers have broken their silence, read more here: https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/its-all-fake-beauty-giant-mecca-facing-bullying-claims-20191117-p539q4.html
    368 of 400 Signatures
    Created by Narita Salima
  • Not YOUR Honey - Honey Birdette Workers Need Safe Workplaces!
    Three years ago I walked into a company that promised me a future of female positivity. I was painted a world of inclusiveness and feminine glamour that I was assured came from the truest intentions of the appreciation of their uniquely selected staff members. I felt the pride of this identity and pledged myself to this company, ran by women, as a job that honoured me equally in my beliefs and work ethic. Honey Birdette promised a dream. They delivered a nightmare. I saw women mocked for daring to apply for a job at Honey Birdette. I saw workers humiliated and threatened by management because they weren't wearing perfectly applied lipstick all day, their heels weren't high enough, and because they didn't "talk the way a Honey should talk". I saw workers sexually harassed and intimidated by customers - and when these women spoke up, management told them to suck it up. In addition, the hours and hours of unpaid overtime we were expected to do - from starting early and finishing late, to skipping lunch breaks and toilet breaks due to the pressure of missing a sale. Honey Birdette's management pretend they're all about empowering women, but they've sacrificed their values and put their workers in physical danger just to make a profit. It's disgraceful and it needs to end. Workers at Honey Birdette boutiques have a right to feel safe and respected at work.
    7,708 of 8,000 Signatures
    Created by Chanelle Rogers
  • This Valentine's Day, it's time to #BreakUpWithBirdette
    Honey Birdette and CEO Eloise Monaghan have repeatedly tried to ignore hundreds of claims by Honey Birdette workers of the bullying, harassment, abuse, and wage theft that goes in in their boutiques - but we won't be silenced. Eloise Monaghan and Honey Birdette need to know that if they don't take the abuse and harassment of workers in their boutiques seriously, we'll support lingerie companies that do! For more information, check out: https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/honey-birdette-workers-need-safe-workplaces
    1,087 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Chanelle Rogers Picture
  • Yarra Trams, treat your workers with respect!
    We are young workers supporting Yarra Trams drivers, authorised officers and customer service staff. Public transport workers work late evening, early mornings, weekends and every hour in between. They keep our city running. They deserve to be treated with respect and taken seriously by Yarra Trams.
    4 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Young Workers Centre
  • End exploitation at Subway!
    I've worked for two different bosses at Subway - but it's the same experience every time. Wage theft. Unpaid training. Bullying. And I know that there are thousands of other young workers right around Australia just like me. Young workers who are being paid at less than the Award rate, working overtime for no pay, facing intimidation and threats from franchisees, and being expected to complete the official Subway training program "Subway University" in our own time. https://youtu.be/UolcRec2Ezs When I tried to report this wage theft to Subway's head office, I was told that there was nothing they could do. But that's a lie. Subway's head office has a responsibility to make sure the people it permits to run businesses under it's brand are not exploiting workers. This isn't just one "bad egg" franchisee. This is systematic. Subway needs to take responsibility for this mess. Read more about the investigation into Subway's underpayments: https://www.theage.com.au/business/small-business/subway-under-investigation-by-fair-work-over-staff-underpayment-20190809-p52flv.html
    3,485 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by Renee - Former Subway Worker
  • Stop putting the squeeze on workers!
    I’m not the only one they've done this to. I know there are staff who don’t want to leave because they’re scared of getting into a situation like me, of leaving and not being paid their wages. It’s incredibly unfair, especially as the face they put to the public is that they’re so wellness-orientated and the fact that they treat their staff so badly isn’t in line with that. I'm one of many workers who are just trying to get back the wages we have earned. It’s not right that dodgy businesses like Pressed Juices and the people behind them can keep ripping people off. The system is broken when people can keep doing this. Young and vulnerable workers are copping the worst of these dodgy employment practices and the rules need to change to protect us. We need to make wage theft a crime that this won't happen to other young workers like me!
    2,099 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Mingka, former Pressed Juices worker
  • Hey Grill'd, You're Cooked!
    I work at a Grill'd store in Melbourne. It's company-owned, and they're STILL using traineeships to commit wage theft. They sign up young workers to complete hospitality certificates, but prevent them from completing their qualifications by refusing to schedule training sessions. This strategy is a scam. It rips us off, denying us fair pay and the training we're promised. Grill'd have shown time and time again they will do whatever it takes to make a profit from exploiting workers. This strategy means no qualification, no bonus, no career progression - it's a scam. It's not the first time Grill'd have been caught out ripping off young workers. A year ago they were exposed by workers for using WorkChoices era collective agreements to commit wage theft. Since then, Grill'd have been grilled (pun intended) by the media and instituted a new collective agreement. Problem solved, right? Wrong. Grill'd reckon they're "good for the community" - they should start acting like it.
    5,041 of 6,000 Signatures
    Created by Kashmir S
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