Union members could be sent inside Queensland state high schools to recruit students to unions under a new program put together by the Queensland Council of Unions.
And in a heated press conference which was ultimately cut short, a blind-sided Labor education minister Grace Grace – former secretary of the council – was unable to say how she would stop them.
The Young Workers Hub is designed to educate students in years 11 and 12 who have part-time jobs about their rights at work, including wage theft, fair pay, bullying, sexual harassment and political activism.
"It's really hard for young people, they've got insecure work, typically captured in jobs that have got low pay," QCU general secretary Ros McLennan said.
"Add to that, no voice and being less educated about their rights. This seeks to solve those problems for young people … connecting with bodies that can actually help them get those rights enforced and campaigning for change.
"It's not about just telling them what their rights are … it's about engaging them to make their world of work a much better, fairer place."
When asked if the program would encourage students to join unions, Ms McLennan confirmed "absolutely".
"It'd be a bit odd if the Queensland Council of Unions wasn't about encouraging people to join," she said.
Despite publicly backing the program, Ms Grace today said she had only been informed about it yesterday and had not seen the details.
She was quick to stress it was an initiative of the QCU, not of the education department, and she hoped students would be engaged by unions in their workplace rather than at school.
The former QCU official cut short the press conference when asked if she could guarantee students wouldn't be recruited by unions at school.
She later released a statement that said "the appropriate place for unions to recruit members is in their workplace".
"The government will not allow union recruitment of students at school. This is not an initiative of the Education Department," the statement read.
Individual school principals will likely be required to opt-in.
The LNP has slammed the program as a union membership drive.
"They're starting young because they're not getting the members they want," education spokesman Jarrod Bleijie said.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2018
I can almost hear the outrage now! LOL
Seriously though, my first thought was - no way! But then I thought about how many other institutions go into schools to spruik their particular agenda, churches, banks, the military etc.
Is this really any different, and is it maybe a good idea for high school kids who might already have part-time jobs to learn about their rights at work?