Labour Day marks rights of modern workers

Labour Day was celebrated this week, with those of us who were able to taking a day off.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was left feeling all the more relaxed and refreshed for it, at least until Tuesday morning arrived with Monday's work still there and undone.

But it is important to recognise that the struggles of a long time ago have had a positive impact on working life today, even if modern New Zealanders' "average work hours" rate among the highest in the OECD.

I visit a number of businesses and workers. Younger workers in particular are finding it difficult to get on the first rung of the employment ladder. This is because the employers are often confronted with paying a teenager the same wage as someone who has been working for several years.

The shopkeeper who employs a student on the weekends and after school pays the minimum wage of $13.50 per hour, but on a public holiday like Labour Day the cost per hour skyrockets.

Public holiday employment conditions mean time-and-a-half for the day, so $20.25. Then the employer must also give a day off in lieu of the public holiday, so that is another $13.50 per hour and then employ someone in place to cover the one having the day off. That comes to $47.75 per hour for public holiday days.

No surprises, then, that employers want to give a job to someone who has a provable history of getting up and coming to work, working all day and then turning up the next day and doing the same. Employers will often say too that nobody aspires to earn minimum wage, so many young ones turn up looking for a job that will pay over $20 per hour at least.

But the young people have some very good points to make. The obvious one is that they will never get a start without a first job, and that older workers also come with their bad habits, which are not easy to train out.

The Government has brought legislation to Parliament which introduces a starting-out wage which allows a younger and unemployed person to be started on an hourly rate of $10.50. This is for a maximum for six months and allows the "green" worker to show their ability and prove their worth before the employer is bound to increase salary.

It gives them an extra little push to get them on the first rung of the employment ladder, and will help deal with the problems of the employers who say they can't find staff and the youth who say they can't get a start.

It is annoying to hear the way people are treated in applying for jobs by the arrogance of some employers who do not acknowledge an application, return a CV in hard copy (which can be costly to print) or advise the outcome of shortlisting or interviews. My daughter has applied for several jobs - about 35 in total. Only half the employers have acknowledged the receipt of the application, and only half of them have advised the outcome of the process. Only one employer rang to give feedback on the interview and encourage her in her next application.

This mirrors the experience of my daughter-in-law 18 months ago and the experience of countless others.

It seems to me that another reason to celebrate Labour Day will be when workers and employers respect each other's role, the experiences of both and the expectations those employing and employed. If we could guarantee that level of understanding our economy would be in much better shape.