Rees Holgate, a 16-year-old Greendown School pupil, does not have a job but says a minimum wage for younger people is a good idea. "We should get paid the same amount as adults because we do the same amount of work," he said. Rees, who lives in Grange Park, says the worst payers for teenagers are shops in the town centre.

Chris Miller, a 16-year-old Hreod Parkway pupil from Moredon, gets paid £3.57 to work Saturdays as a workshop assistant at Dick Lovett BMW. His work involves cleaning and assisting mechanics. "The wages are okay," he said. "I have been doing the job for nine months and I enjoy it but I think we should get paid as much as adults do."

Vicky Mainey, a 16-year-old New College student from Nythe, gets paid £5 an hour working in a kiosk at Swindon Town FC for four-and-a-half hours a week. "I think it's quite a good amount," she said. The money is enough to fund her shopping habits, and is significantly more than the £3 an hour one of her friends earns working in a shop.

Another New College student, 16-year-old Michelle Reston, from Eldene, holds down two jobs one at Swindon Town and a second at the Village Inn in South Marston. Both pay £5 an hour. "My wage is pretty good compared with other people's," she said. "Shop workers get less and they do more hours." Michelle suggests the youth minimum wage should be set at £4, but as long as her pay stays at £5 she is not too bothered.

Charles Keene, 16, used to work for Next . His hourly pay there started at £3.80 before rising to £4.27. "It was pretty poor," said Charles, who lives in Park North. "We were doing a lot for pretty poor pay. We should get paid as much as adults because we do the same jobs. We always need money, so employers get away with it. We're just cheap labour." Charles said his girlfriend earned just £1.80 an hour as a trainee hairdresser.

Peter Lort, a 16-year old from Covingham, is serving an apprenticeship with Swindon Body Centre Fish Brothers. He says the £3.26 he gets for painting cars is okay because his pay goes up every year. Once he has completed his three-year training he gets a £3,000 bond. Peter doesn't mind getting paid less than his adult co-workers. "It's a fair deal because I don't do as much as the qualified people," he said. "When I finish I could be on £10 an hour."