In a cost of living and rental crisis, placement poverty is pushing students to the absolute brink.
Pressure from the Greens and students have pushed Labor in the right direction. But a half-baked, means-tested supplement for only a fraction of students shows that they have a real lack of understanding of the severity and extent of placement poverty.
Labor’s recent announcement on student placements is a slap in the face. This solution is lacklustre and really only a drop in the ocean.
Here’s the real solution: every student should be paid for every hour of work they’re required to do as part of their degree.
Placements should be designed to benefit student learning, not exploit their labour with onerous hours and conditions.
Instead of helping struggling students, the government is giving scraps.
Did you know?
Labor’s announcement pays students well below minimum wage, at just $8 an hour. Plus, it’s limited to students doing certain degrees and won’t even come into effect until July 2025!
It’s simply callous to make students wait for over a year, when they need help right now.
Students should be paid at least minimum wage for their work on placement, not a lesser supplementary amount. That payment should be universal and not limited by degrees.
Labor lacks the ambition for the transformation we need in higher education. Students are getting a raw deal while Labor hands piles of cash to billionaires, big corporations and the defence industry.
Education is a basic human right, and students should be guaranteed a liveable income.
Join us in calling for every student to be paid for mandatory placements.