Employment minister hits back at union claims PaTH program fundamentally changes the relationship between business and workers.

Australia's peak union body has stepped up its campaign against the government's controversial new internship program, telling BuzzFeed News it's "illegal" and will lead to young people being offered up as "human fodder" to big business.

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The Australian Council of Trade Unions has been given legal advice that the internship program, which could see young people paid as little as $4 an hour on top of Newstart payments, breaches minimum wage protections.

The ACTU's Ged Kearney says the government will need to pass new laws to make their internship program legal.

"These kids will be doing work, under the direction of an employer and getting paid. That is an employment relationship and therefore they should be paid minimum wage and given wage protections," she told BuzzFeed News.

The government launched the PaTH program in last week's Budget, with the aim of getting 120,000 more young people into jobs. But aspects of the program have come under heavy fire, including the fact that young people will be paid as little as $100 for 25 hours of work per week, on top of their standard welfare payment.

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