新西兰英语 682 Youth Wage

 　　The government will bring back a lower¹ starting wage for young people between the ages of 16 and 19. For the first 6 months of a new job, they will be paid $10.80 an hour. This is 80% of the adult minimum² wage which is $13.50.

　　In 2008, the Labour government got rid of the youth wage. At that time, New Zealand had 41,000 unemployed³ people under the age of 24. Now we have 61,700 unemployed young people under 24.

　　Business leaders say that it is a good idea to pay young people less when they start a job because they are inexperienced. Employers⁴ might also prefer to employ young people and give them a start in their working life.

　　Trade Unions say that there should be equal pay for equal work. They also say worry about jobs for older people. It will be cheaper to employ young people instead of older people.

　　Some young people say that $10.80 an hour is not enough to live on. More young people will go overseas⁵ for better pay.

　　Vocabulary

　　?wage – weekly pay (salary – annual⁶ pay)

　　?minimum – lowest possible pay (maximum – highest possible)

　　?got rid of – stopped it

　　?inexperienced – no experience of work

　　?prefer – like more

　　?Trade Unions – organisations of workers

　　Question

　　What do you think? Give reasons both for and against paying young people less than older people.

1 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

2 minimum   

adj.最低的，最小的；n.最小量，最低限度

参考例句：

• What is the minimum price?最低价是多少？
• Today's minimum temperature is 10℃.今天的最低气温是10℃。

3 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

4 employers   

雇主( employer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• The onus is on employers to follow health and safety laws. 雇主有义务遵行健康安全法。

5 overseas   

adj.海外的；adv.在海外

参考例句：

• Her man has been sent overseas by his employers.她的丈夫已被雇主派往海外。
• Many firms are focusing on increasing their markets overseas.许多商行都专注于扩大国外市场。

6 annual   

adj.每年的；一年的；（植物）一年生的 n.年刊；一年生植物

参考例句：

• It's an annual report.这是年度报告。
• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。