ETC – AUSTRALIA

Public servants set the pace in race for pay rise

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Aug-19

The Australian Bureau of Statistics advised on 14 August that overall wages had increased by 0.6 per cent in the June quarter. Public sector wages rose by 0.8 per cent, while private sector wages were up by just 0.5 per cent. For the year to June, public sector wages were up by 2.6 per cent, while private sector wages rose by 2.3 per cent. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe had stated on 9 August that federal and state governments should lift caps on public sector wages; he claimed the caps were impeding general salary increases. However, his calls to lift caps were attacked by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Labor reckless, irresponsible for public sector wage call

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Original article by Richard Ferguson, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-19

Shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones says the federal government should stimulate the economy and wages growth by increasing salaries in the public sector. He argues that the government is a major employer and it should "lead by example" in boosting wages. His comments follow the release of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey data, which highlights the low growth in average income since the global financial crisis. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann contends that public sector employees receive "reasonable and affordable" pay rises via workplace bargaining.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ACTU, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

Poor Barnaby struggling to get by on $280k

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Jul-19

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has been criticised after he claimed that he is finding it hard to get by on his parliamentary wage, and for linking his circumstances to people on the Newstart allowance. It can be revealed that Joyce’s total remuneration is $280,000 a year, while people on Newstart are paid as little as $40 a day. Joyce has called for Newstart to be increased, while he told a newspaper that having his pay reduced in 2018 after he lost the deputy prime ministership, on top of the costs of his marriage breakdown, meant that the money he is now getting "is spread so thin".

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Freeze on fixed pay for one in three execs

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 19-Jul-19

Just six CEOs from Australia’s top 25 companies did not get their fixed pay frozen in 2018, according to a report from PwC, while over a third of the top 100 CEOs had their fixed pay frozen. Seventy-seven per cent of CEOs of financial services companies had their fixed pay frozen, which was not surprising given the findings of the banking royal commission. The freeze at the top of company ranks is expected to extend further down, with a recent survey showing that over 37 per cent of CEOs are likely to either keep wages steady or adopt pay rises of between zero and two per cent.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP

Boards feel the pinch on pay as Hayne fallout hits home

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Jun-19

A new survey shows that company secretaries in the financial services sector have received an average pay rise of 24 per cent in 2018-19. In contrast, the remuneration of directors and chairpersons in the industry have fallen by 11 per cent in the wake of the Hayne royal commission. Likewise, the remuneration of CEOs in the sector fell by 21 per cent and managing directors’ pay was cut by 10 per cent. The survey was undertaken by the Governance Institute, in partnership with McGuirk Consultants and Board Direction.

CORPORATES
GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, McGUIRK MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS PTY LTD, BOARD DIRECTION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Kelty in accord with $10bn childcare vow

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-May-19

Labor’s proposal to provide child care workers with a taxpayer-funded wage increase is supported by former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty. He argues that child care workers are "grossly underpaid", and the cost of the policy will not have a significant impact on wages across the economy. Kelty has also downplayed concerns that the policy would prompt employees in other sectors to seek a similar wage subsidy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Childcare pay rise a carrot for union

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Original article by Rick Morton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-May-19

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has defended Labor’s proposal to provide early childhood educators with a taxpayer-funded pay rise, saying the policy has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office. Treasury Josh Frydenberg in turn has argued that the policy has been costed on giving a pay rise to 100,000 child care workers, whereas the sector employs 195,000 people. He has claimed that the policy is merely aimed at increasing union membership.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Revealed: Neilson’s $100 million news agenda tops the bill

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Original article by Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 3-May-19

The Judith Neilson Journalism Institute has provided funding for a range of initiatives since it was founded, while its longer-term goals include producing podcasts and documentaries in partnership with established media companies. The institute was founded by philanthropist Judith Neilson, who is also its patron. Neilson says she has no input into the day-to-day operations of the institute, whose board includes former ABC chairman Jim Spigelman, Free TV Australia CEO Bridget Fair and Paul Kelly, the editor-at-large of ‘The Australian’.

CORPORATES
JUDITH NEILSON JOURNALISM INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WHITE RABBIT GALLERY LIMITED, WALKLEY FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM

Aged care next for a pay rise from taxpayers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor has no plans to extend its taxpayer-funded pay rise for childcare workers to other low-paid sectors. He says the policy takes into account the "unique" status of childcare workers. However, Council on the Ageing CEO Ian Yates says increasing the wages of aged-care staff should also be a priority for Labor if it wins the election, noting that they are also underpaid and undertrained. Shorten has signalled that Labor could look at wage increases for these workers after the aged-care royal commission delivers its final report in April 2020.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL ON THE AGEING, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO AGED CARE QUALITY AND SAFETY

CBA underpays 8000 staff after HR tech system failure

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 17-Apr-19

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has advised that current and former employees have received some $4.8m in back pay to date, including interest. Problems with the bank’s human resources technology systems resulted in about 8,000 employees being underpaid. Julia Angrisano, the national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, says the bank and its Bankwest subsidiary may ultimately have to repay between $10m and $15m, although CBA believes that the final figure will be much lower. Some employees are also believed to have been paid at below-award rates.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BANKWEST, FINANCE SECTOR UNION