Paul Murphy introduces bill to end sub-minimum pay for under-20s

Thanks a lot, Ceann Comhairle. I am happy to introduce the National Minimum Wage Equal Pay for Young Workers Bill. I would like to thank those in my office, in particular Nicole McCarthy, for the work on the bill and also the bill's office for their assistance. Last week, the Dail unanimously voted to condemn the lower rate of the minimum wage for those under 20 as, quote, flagrant discrimination against young people. Not a single person in the Dail voted against that. That is the view of the Dail that having people under the age of 20 on less than the minimum wage is flagrant discrimination. So that is why we, People Before Profit, are introducing a bill to end that discrimination once and for all and to ensure equal rights for young workers. It is illegal to discriminate based on age under equality legislation. Yet, the minimum wage laws make it legal to do so in relation to minimum wages. Those under the age of 20 are blatantly discriminated against, receiving only a percentage, 90%, 80%, or 70%, for those who are 17 or under, that is $7.35 an hour, of the minimum wage of $10.50. We know the minimum wage of $10.50 itself is a poverty wage. If you are on it full time, you are under the poverty line. And yet the law says it is okay for people to be paid even less than that, not on the basis that they do any less work, but on the basis simply that they are younger. The kind of spin that is used to justify it was seen previously from the Tarnished in 2018 when he said sometimes people go abroad for a period and earn money. Others get money from their parents, lots of us did. I.e. the assumption is that people are relying on the so-called bank of mom and dad, but that is not the case for very many young people in this country. It is not the case that this is just pocket money on the side, money that people do not need. These are people who are struggling to pay mortgages. These are people who are struggling to feed their families, never mind the massive cost of living crisis which we have at the moment. The government is assuming that those under the age of 20 are getting some kind of cut in their rent or living costs due to being underage. But if you go to a landlord and you say, actually I am only 18, I should really only be paying 80% of the rent, the landlord won't be very receptive to that argument. They are working to try to cover their bills or rent and they deserve a proper wage. I got a message from a 16 year old who described his experience. He described the lower rate he is receiving as crucifying and insulting. He said, I go home from school and switch from school uniform to work uniform and go back out the door again only to earn less than my co-workers. In 2022 this is insulting, discriminatory and truthfully not working for. He is on 7.35 an hour. He wants to be treated the same as every other worker. Can anyone really argue that it was fair to have young workers stacking shelves during the pandemic, keeping the shops open, being recognised as essential workers and yet getting paid as little as 7.35 an hour? That has been the reality of their experience of those under the age of 18. We know from the latest CSO figures that there are over 10,000 people in this country, 10,000 workers, who are on sub-minimum wage rates as a result of being 19 or under. These are workers in sectors whereby the workers have been recognised as essential, retail, accommodation, restaurants, service industry. For those renting, we know that the latest staff.ie report suggests that rents increased 10.3% in the last year. How on earth are young people expected to afford that when it is clearly a struggle and unaffordable, even for those on 100% of the minimum wage rate? So we need action to end the flagrant discrimination against workers under the age of 20. This bill will do precisely that. It will allow workers of all ages to receive at least the minimum wage as is fair and is right. This is a bill to end discrimination, but it is also a bill that is in the interest of all workers. It is not in the interest of any worker that a boss can say, well, I can employ someone for even less than the minimum wage. It is used to drive down terms and conditions for all. For us, of course, this is not linked to being satisfied with the 10.50. We are not satisfied. The Dáil passed a motion unanimously just last week, saying there has to be an emergency review and an increase by May because of the motion that we brought forward. We will hold the government to that, but we will also be fighting for a significant increase in the minimum wage. Germany has just announced plans for a 12 euro minimum wage. In the U.S., in many states, workers have won $15 an hour, and we are fighting for a 15 euro an hour minimum wage for all in this country. Thank you.