The Andrews Labor government is warning employers to protect young workers after a newly-launched campaign by WorkSafe Victoria.

The campaign is based around a social experiment of workers aged 18-25 which saw them take part in a mock job interview. In the interview, questions regarding their workplace health and safety were brought up and the interviewees displayed vulnerability in speaking up when they were uncomfortable about having their health and safety compromised.

“This campaign reveals how our young Victorians are vulnerable to injuries in the workplace and reminds us of the importance of making sure they know they have the right to come home safe from work at the end of each day,” minister for workplace safety Jill Hennessy says.

“Young Victorians should be safe at work and it is unacceptable for employers to pressure inexperienced workers into situations that put their physical or mental health at risk.”

Jill launched the campaign alongside WorkSafe chief executive Colin Radford: “Employers have no excuse for abusing their power and endangering the health and wellbeing of young workers,” he says.

“With more inspectors completing more inspections than ever before, WorkSafe will not hesitate to take enforcement action where it finds employers failing to meet their health and safety obligations.”

After a series of questions, 91% of the participants accepted that their employer had no responsibility for their health and safety, that they would work without first being trained, accept bullying and harassment in the workplace, and accept unsafe work conditions to secure and maintain employment.

The full video of the experiment can be found HERE.