The minimum wage will rise $ 1.05 an hour from its base of $ 20.33 as of July 1, up 5.2 percent to $ 21.38 an hour .
Key points:
- The minimum wage has risen slightly above inflation
- Wage earners face a small pay cut in real terms
- According to the Fair Work Commission, the increase will not negatively affect the economy
Workers with award rates will increase 4.6 percent, a reduction in actual wages, with a minimum increase of $ 40 per week for workers with premium rates below $ 869.60 per week.
The Fair Labor Commission said its decision would affect more than 2.7 million workers, as well as other employees in business agreements and other pay adjustments.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made raising the minimum wage a mainstay of his election campaign when he advocated a wage increase of at least 5.1 per cent, in line with inflation.
UPDATE: Look back at the reaction to the minimum wage decision on our blog
Albanese said he “absolutely” welcomed today’s decision.
“The truth is that many of those people who have the minimum wage are the heroes who saw us through the pandemic,” he said.
“They deserve more than our gratitude, they deserve a raise, and they’ve got it today.”
Employment Minister Tony Burke said people “would see in their bank accounts what the change of government means”.
“For the first time in almost a decade, we’ve had a government advocating for real wage increases, and now it’s going to be implemented,” Burke said.
Some business groups argued against a pay rise, suggesting that the supply chain and cost pressures made it unsustainable.
Fair Labor Commission Chairman Iain Ross said the rising cost of living was putting too much pressure on low-wage workers to ignore them.
“We are aware that low wages are especially vulnerable in the context of rising inflation,” Ross said.
“If we had to accept the allegations of some of the employers’ bodies and not grant any increase, then the real reduction in wages would be even more severe.”
Ross said the current labor market was strong enough that the wage increase would not have a “significant negative effect” on the economy.
Unions say good news for some, not others
Sally McManus, head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said the FWC’s decision was a victory for salaried workers.
“That decision is reasonable and fair,” Ms. McManus said.
“It means that for underpaid workers, [they] will have a better ability to pay the rent and pay the groceries and also to pay the energy bills. “
Ms McManus said disappointing increases in some hospitality workers, which were delayed, said the aviation industry had recovered well.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume.
And he noted that while today’s decision gave certainty to a quarter of the workforce about the minimum wage and award rates, other workers were expecting to see an improvement in their wage packages.
“All Australians should be involved in the recovery and share the growth they are producing right now, and they are not,” he said.
Companies warn that the pay rise will increase the stress of the sector
The Australian Chamber of Commerce, however, warns that the decision will put more stress on companies.
Andrew McKellar, the head of the most representative group for companies, said the FWC had reached the much higher range of possible wage increases.
“This will add $ 7.9 billion in costs to the affected companies over the next year, so it will be a very considerable burden that these companies will have to contribute to the end result or pass on to their customers,” he says.
“If we want to stay competitive, it’s clear that this is not a decision that will help in these circumstances.”
The Australian Traders Association said the pay rise “could push some companies to the limit” and that the economic recovery was still uncertain.
“The scale of this increase in the Fair Labor Commission could put some companies at the limit,” the group said in a statement.
Salary increases, but there is more pain
The newly elected prime minister has been pressured to ease the burden of the cost of living, as inflation, rising interest rates and rising petrol and energy prices hit the wallets. of Australians.
The Reserve Bank also expects inflation to continue rising to 7% by Christmas, and plans to raise interest rates further.
There is more pain for Australians in September, when a temporary 22-cent reduction in fuel tax will end.
In an election night poll of 1,400 Australians, the Australian Institute found that the vast majority of people across party lines supported an increase in the minimum wage that followed the cost of living.
Eighty-eight per cent of Labor voters surveyed and 79 per cent of coalition voters surveyed supported the pay rise increase.
During the election, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticized Labor for promising to push for a pay rise, saying the government should not intervene in the independent work of the Fair Labor Commission, even though governments of both bands have made formal recommendations in the past.
Loading form …
Posted 6 hours 6 hours ago on Wed. June 15, 2022 at 12:14 AM, updated 2 hours ago June 12, 2022 at 4:23 AM