I solely rely on my Saturday and Sunday penalty rates

I am 17 and work in a pharmacy, earning minimum wage at $11.50 an hour.

When I started working (at age 15), I was only making $8.50. Combine that with the fact that I go to school all day and study most nights, I can’t afford to be working enough shifts to be able to support me when I finish school.

I solely rely on my Saturday and Sunday penalty rates, in which I make the amount that I should be making without those rates, when considering the amount of work I actually do. I am trained on tills, floor, cosmetics and as a pharmacy assistant and yet I only make $11.50?

Above all this, full time employees and those who have higher paying jobs don’t usually work on weekends, never earning penalty rates. So why is it such an issue that us, who earn minimal amounts, are the only ones who suffer?