Australian businesses are running out of workers across most sectors, causing many more small businesses to potentially shut their doors. Many are now looking to reform some of the labor laws and allow children as young as 13 to fill the void, willing to hire just about anyone.
Australia’s labor problems are coming from multiple angles, with people reportedly choosing not to work, with plenty of migrants looking to finally leave Australia for good, while the nation’s stringent border policies are preventing more potential workers to enter in.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is now proposing a reform to allow 13-year-olds to join the workforce, reported by 7 News Australia.
We’re at crisis point when it comes to labor shortages.
With over 40,000 job vacancies in retail trade across the country – the largest growth in vacancies is within retail.
What we’re looking for is national consistency and the ability to tap into willing student workers in a consistent way around the country.
At the moment, there’s disparity around the legal working age for students, with the states and territories setting their own regulations. It’s not for business to define the minimum working age – that’s a job for government.
An ideal model would be one where we allow 13 to 15-year-olds to work, with sensible regulations in place around not working during school hours or at times that would impact a young person’s education.
Agreeing to a national framework on young workers would help mobilize a willing and able cohort of people to help address the staffing shortfall.
Most Australians got their first job in retail or hospitality and learn many skills that set them up for their future. A simple change like this could have an immediate impact on filling vacancies.
ARA chief executive Paul Zarha
And, as noted in a video on the subject by Carl Vernon, New Zealand seems to struggling with an identical problem.
Some commentors had this to say:
There is nothing wrong with a kid learning the value of hard work at a young age by getting a job. Where it does become a problem is when a country wants to rely on the youth to carry the labor market – this is a sign of bad times.
“hatz11” wrote
It’s all about getting the chattel in the salt mines to generate tax dollars. Then work them till they are just old enough to not be able to contribute to the State. At that point the State will help turn you into fertilizer.
“Trump Won” added
Mark my words – it is only a matter of time until these crooks lower the legal age of consent.
“Ali Walil” said
I believe child labor is a third world economic staple. Good to know they’re embracing the roots of human history.
“Plissken” said
“Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty (or a garbage Aussie economy), you will have both poverty (or a garbage Aussie economy) and child labor to the end of time”. – Grace Abbott. Parentheses my own.
“David Wilson” wrote
It was only a newspaper delivery round, but I started work at 13 years old and did it 7 days a week for three years – at the paper shop at 0600 every day to make sure I was finished the round in time to get to school.
“Martin Thoby” said
It wasn’t child labour, it was my choice and it enabled me to EARN my own money and learn the value of things.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
Proverbs 14:23
Penury is another way of saying, “immense poverty,” or “being destitute.” The proverb is an illusion to slothfulness, though never directly mentioned. Instead of talking about making money, hard work, success, prosperity, you actually have to do it and chip away at it, not just talk about it. If all you do is daydream, and rather complain about the work instead of doing it (every communist that ever lived), you’ll go broke; and “you’ll own nothing and be happy!” See how that works? Right now we have entire generations and swaths of people who want to talk about the problems without trying to meaningfully fix the problem themselves (i.e. the world governments and most of their populous) – such as getting into debt with no intent of paying it off, but live off of government cheese and food stamps, peddling and slinging drugs in a dingy apartment or slums of the city.
If nothing is done in Australia, or in the States, Canada, or Europe, then penury will set in far more than it already has.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
It is a travesty that children around the world were forced into idleness and laziness. They should have been forced to work an actual job, or have plenty of chores to keep them preoccupied enough, so they can develop a solid work ethic and not be conditioned to be a leech. But, as I have noted before, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Proverbs 29:15).
Even so, I do also recognize that what is going on is priming the children for future child slave labor. In my report, “Are You Awake? Are You Ready For What’s Coming? Do You Loathe The Honeycomb?,” I had explicitly warned about this coming reality, as most Western parents and families are going to be killed off and the children will be turned into slaves.
[32] Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. [41] Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. Deuteronomy 28:32, 41
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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Working at age 13 after school, weekends and full time during summer holidays was not uncommon when we grew up in the late 50’s. Ice cream sales usually or helping at tables in beach restaurants. Loved the independence and the money.