Labor has ganged up with the anti-worker Liberal Party to vote against the Greens’ efforts to get under 18 year-old workers paid superannuation.
The Greens introduced a partial disallowance to the regulations to ensure all workers under 18s are finally paid superannuation.
To their shame, Labor decided to continue to discriminate against our young workers, denying 515,000 young workers across the country their super, setting them behind financially for the rest of their lives.
The Greens say Labor has chosen to line the pockets of big corporations with money that should be going to our 15-17 year olds.
As stated by Australian Greens spokesperson for finance, employment and workplace relations, Senator Barbara Pocock:
“Labor and the Coalition teamed up in the parliament to vote against teenage workers getting super and to pump the profits of Coles, Woolies and Maccas.
“They are robbing 515,000 young workers an estimated $405 million in super contributions in 2025-26 alone.
“This means some of our lowest paid young workers will continue to directly subsidise the bottom line of some of Australia’s most profitable big corporations.
“Labor is picking the pockets of teenagers to put it in the profits of Coles and Woolies.
“The majority of young people under 18 (93 per cent) work fewer than 30 hours a week because of their school and study commitments, meaning they miss out on super. Young people shouldn’t be penalised for going to school or studying.
“Labor is the party of big corporations, not the party of workers.
“Labor can’t hide from teenage workers. The Greens won’t let this go.
“The Greens will continue to fight for young workers. We will fight Labor to ensure that every young person is paid super on every dollar they earn, no matter how many hours they work.”
