Queensland's education minister has moved to hose down claims a new program to educate high school students about their rights as workers is union indoctrination.
The Queensland Council of Unions has put together a program called the Young Workers Hub, which will educate Year 11 and 12 students who have part-time jobs about their rights at work.
It will also offer contact channels for young people to seek support if they have questions or issues at work, as well as a "campaigning arm" to allow young workers to "make their workplaces better".
Education Minister Grace Grace has insisted her department did not play a role in its development.
"Everyone needs to calm down, the first time we heard about it was yesterday, from what I understand it hasn't even been finalised," she told reporters on Thursday.
Ms Grace said the state's Labor government did not endorse the program and her department had not discussed possible government support with the union.
"From what I understand the QCU is working on a way to relate to young workers that are being exploited," she said.
"This is not about recruiting students at schools."
Ms Grace said teenagers who were already working deserved to know their rights at work to avoid exploitation.
But the Opposition was quick to say the union's initiative was an attempt to get young people to sign up as union members.
"This is nothing more than a political union membership drive and they're starting young because they're not getting the members that they want," the Liberal National Party's education spokesman Jarrod Bleijie said.
He drew a distinction between the QCU's program and similar classes run by the Queensland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, saying the business advocacy group was not an "external body of a political party".
He also accused Ms Grace of being "too close" to the issue because she was a QCU official before entering politics.
Children in Queensland can legally work once they turn 13, with exemptions down to the age of 11 for some jobs such as delivering pamphlets door-to-door.
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