Pressure to extend wage plan to all ages

Scott Morrison’s $4bn wage subsidy scheme for new employees aged up to 35 could be derailed in the Senate by Laboras pressure grows to make it ageless.

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the existing incentive program for over-50s as a ‘monumental failure’. Picture: Getty Images

Scott Morrison’s $4bn wage subsidy scheme for new employees aged up to 35 could be derailed in the Senate by Labor, crossbenchers and the Greens, with the government staring down pressure to extend its JobMaker hiring credits program to all workers.

The Australian understands legislation required to authorise the scheme was not a certainty to pass through the parliament ­before Christmas, with Labor, the unions and crossbenchers ­demanding eligibility concessions and safeguards against rorting in the wage subsidy plan.

Amid an escalating political clash and the establishment of a Senate inquiry into the scheme, an exclusive Newspoll survey ­reveals 57 per cent of Australians want the employer program to capture all new jobs regardless of age.

The Prime Minister on Sunday ruled out offering any concessions to push the legislation through parliament and pressured ­Anthony Albanese to support it.

“I wouldn’t see why I’d have to. Why would the Labor Party want to oppose getting young people into work? If the Labor Party wants to oppose young people going into work, I’ll let them ­explain that. And I think the Australian people will make their own judgment on them,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison also hit back against criticism the budget failed to support older workers, saying existing programs including the Restart scheme, providing $10,000 wage subsidies for over-50s who have been on JobSeeker for six-months, were delivering employment support for all Australians.

The Australian can reveal ­existing wage subsidy schemes,­ ­offering incentives of between $6500 and $10,000, have helped more than 213,000 unemployed workers back into jobs since 2014, including 51,190 people over 50.

The government’s decision to target younger workers is based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing a sharper fall in jobs and hours worked for people 15 to 34 between March and August.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers, who described the existing incentive program for over-50s as a “monumental failure”, said while Labor supported wage subsidies and hiring credits, the JobMaker scheme left “928,000 Australians … in the lurch”.

“We’ll go through all the detail. There’s a Senate committee to do that. We’ll see how the government responds to the concerns we’ve raised about possible rorting, possible churning of workers and all of those unintended consequences,” Dr Chalmers said.

The economic legislation committee is due to report on the government’s Economic Recovery Package legislation by November 6, leaving three parliamentary sitting weeks before Christmas to pass the legislation.

Labor, which last week indicated it was likely to support the wage subsidy program, will not make a final decision on its position until after the committee reports back.

Under the government’s JobMaker plan, an eligible employer would receive $200 a week for hiring a person aged 16 to 29 or $100 a week for someone aged 30 to 35, with a maximum benefit of $10,400 per new position created.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and independent South Australian senator Rex Patrick last week raised concerns over the wage subsidy scheme being abused or rorted.

The CFMEU is also preparing to press the Senate crossbench for changes to the apprenticeship subsidy scheme, pushing for financial penalties if employers dump higher-paid workers in favour of young apprentices.

Under the $1.2bn scheme, businesses of any size will be paid a 50 per cent subsidy — up to $28,000 — of the wages of a new apprentice or trainee until next September 30. The funding will support 100,000 new apprentices and trainees for 12 months.

CFMEU construction division national secretary Dave Noonan said the scheme was a “recipe for exploitation” and, if left unamended, would create an incentive for employers to replace existing workers on higher wages with ­apprentices for 12 months.

Mr Noonan said the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Building and Construction Commission should enforce the law and “serious penalties” applied for breaches by employers.

Recent figures show 82,465 construction apprentices withdrew or cancelled their apprenticeship in the five years to March, compared to 53,115 who completed it.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said existing subsidies for businesses to hire job seekers had transitioned more than 200,000 Australians into work and was proof that “targeted wage measures work”.

“We know from our employment statistics that the two out the six age categories, 25-34 and 35-44, have taken up nearly half (47 per cent) of all the jobs. That is why it so important to target those age groups that employers may be overlooking,” Senator Cash said.

“Whether it’s a lack of experience or a stigma around old age, younger and mature-aged Australians face more barriers to entry into the labour market, which is why we have extra assistance for these demographics.”

Employment data shows that since 2014, almost 87,000 workers aged between 15 and 29 were hired by businesses under existing federal wage subsidies. More than 16,500 businesses have employed an Indigenous Australian under the Restart (over 50s), Youth Bonus (15-24), Youth (25-29), Parents (any age) and Long Term Unemployed (any age) wage subsidy schemes.

Opposition employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor said the scaling back of JobKeeper payments and exclusion of people from the JobMaker scheme would deepen the recession and “push more workers on to the unemployment queues”.