An innovative new campaign to ensure young workers are aware of their rights has been launched this week by WorkSafe.
Minister for Workplace Safety, Jill Hennessy and Chief Executive of WorkSafe, Colin Radford launched the campaign which is part of a social experiment that saw young workers aged 18-25 asked to participate in a mock job information session for a research company.
“Participants were asked a series of questions about the risks they were willing to take to secure employment,” Ms Hennessy said.
“[Their answers revealed that] young workers lacked the confidence to question unsafe working conditions,” she said.
“Twenty-one of the 23 participants said they would accept that their employer had no responsibility for their health and safety.”
Ms Hennessy said participants indicated they would also work without first being trained, accept bullying and harassment in the workplace, and accept unsafe work conditions to secure and maintain employment.
“Almost all of the participants displayed vulnerability in speaking up when they were uncomfortable about having their health and safety compromised,” she said.
“Young workers can be reluctant to question their employers about hazards in the workplace and often have a poor understanding of their health and safety rights.”
Ms Hennessy said the campaign would be supported with education for employers and young workers to increase awareness of their rights and responsibilities.
Mr Radford said employers had no excuse for abusing their power and endangering the health and well-being of young workers.
