Dr. Paul Redmond:

If we were to look at information on young workers who could all be legally paid the sub-minimum wage, those aged 19 or below, and again this is from 2023 and before the latest increase, nearly 80% are actually paid above this rate. The vast majority are either paid the full rate of the minimum wage or a higher rate. Again, when we drill down a bit deeper, there is a bit of a sliding scale. If we look at workers aged 15 to 17, just under half are paid the sub-minimum rate of pay. By the time we are looking at those aged 19, we find that just 10% of these youth workers are on a sub-minimum wage rate. The vast majority, therefore, are already paid in excess of the sub-minimum rate.