New grant to help Rotorua students

YWRC co-ordinator Tony Stevens speaks with Bay of Plenty high school students about employment issues. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Hundreds of local secondary school students will be taught about crucial employment issues in a series of free workshops being funded by BayTrust in 2016.

A $4000 grant has been awarded to the Young Workers' Resource Centre (YWRC) to help run free workshops to educate students on employment issues such as 90 day trial periods, sick leave, zero hour contracts and more.

"We run through all the fundamentals of employment law - these things don't feature in the school curriculum at all and the students usually have no idea about these issues," said YWRC co-ordinator Tony Stevens.

This year YWRC delivered 16 workshops at five different Bay of Plenty high schools, all of whom had to pay for the service. But thanks to the BayTrust grant, the non-profit organisation will have all its travel costs covered in 2016 and is looking to double the number of workshops it delivers in the Bay.

"We're just really stoked to have the support of a funder in the Bay of Plenty who recognises this is an issue that needs tackling. It will enable us to educate upwards of 500 students throughout the region in 2016," he said.

Workshop topics include the minimum wage, employment agreements, different types of employment, health and safety, and how to deal with problems when they arise.

"Our goal is really to empower students to resolve issues with their own efforts. Often students don't know how to bring up an issue with an employer or a colleague, so we'll tell them how to do it and what to expect."

Stevens says many young people find themselves in difficult employment situations, and their inexperience is taken advantage of.

"There are so many horror stories and a lot of them go unheard because young people don't step forward and speak out. They don't know who to contact or what to say"

In one instance a 21 year-old woman was dismissed from her job in a bookstore 89 days into her 90 trial period despite never having received an official employment agreement. In another case a young man on a zero hour contract was expected to turn up to a bar and wait without pay until his employer decided if there was enough work on any given shift.

Stevens said the YWRC is committed to helping young people gain fair employment opportunities and secure working conditions by educating them on their rights and responsibilities.

BayTrust Chief Executive Alastair Rhodes says many local secondary schools are keen to have the YWRC deliver these presentations as the information is highly relevant and valuable to students.

"Many young people already work part-time or are on the verge of embarking on their working careers. It's vital they understand their rights and responsibilities in the workplace so they can deal with situations effectively and avoid the stress of having things go wrong."

BayTrust hopes the free workshops will ultimately lead to greater respect, trust and fairness in the workplace between Bay of Plenty employers and young employees.