<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australian Unions are backing a bid to end junior rates of pay for younger workers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) has applied to the Fair Work Commission to scrap junior pay rates for workers aged 18 and over in retail, fast food and pharmacies so they can be paid adult wages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Young workers under 21 employed under the key retail, fast food and pharmacy awards are not currently entitled to adult wages.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/south-east-queensland-total-fire-ban/d661fb00-173d-45d6-87eb-2893c95eb3fc" target="_blank"><strong><span>Tens of thousands without power post-storm as fire danger surges</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They are paid lower wages on a sliding scale which unions say is out of touch with the cost-of-living pressures confronting young workers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Workers under 20 are paid 90 per cent of the adult award rate, while 19-year-olds are paid 80 per cent of the award rate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Employees who are 18 get just 70 per cent of the full award rates in retail, fast food and pharmacies.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/fair-work-commission-junior-pay-rates-call/92835860-9908-4eb5-aa56-e901e965ce75" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>ACTU President Michele O'Neil said employer groups have got it wrong when they claim a change will cost young workers their jobs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you're 18, you're legally an adult. You can vote. You can drive. You can work the late shift. But in retail and fast food, you're still paid like a kid," O'Neil said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That pay gap isn't small. An 18-year-old needs 50 plus hours a week to earn what an adult makes in 38.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The bills don't get reduced because you're younger. The rent doesn't care about your birthday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The SDA - the union for retail and fast-food workers - has asked the Fair Work Commission to fix this.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/louvre-museum-robbery-suspects-arrested-over-theft-of-crown-jewels/2f3f79a9-725a-46c8-8c5a-304cd3f28f3b" target="_blank"><strong><span>Suspects arrested over theft of crown jewels from Paris' Louvre museum</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Once you're legally an adult, you should be paid the adult wage. It's straightforward and fair."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A case starts in the Fair Work Commission today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/Z8tJCf"><strong><span>Sign up here</span></strong></a><strong><span> to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.</span></strong></div></div>