MINIMUM WAGE – AUSTRALIA

Backdown on radical wage plan

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 20-Feb-18

A future Labor government may require the Fair Work Commission to give greater consideration to the needs of people on low wages when deciding on increases in the minimum wage. At present the FWC is also required to take into account a range of economic factors, and Stephen Smith of the Australian Industry Group says the potential change outlined by the Opposition’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor could result in many people on low wages losing their jobs. Labor had previously proposed setting the minimum wage at a proportion of the median wage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Shorten’s policies shrink small businesses

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Original article by Craig Laundry
The Daily Telegraph – Page: 64 : 16-Feb-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has outlined plans to tie the minimum wage to 60 per cent of the median wage. As well as potentially putting up to one million small companies out of business, his plan is one similar to that rejected by the Fair Work Commission in 2017, with the FWC being an independent body that Shorten himself helped to set up. Australia already has the second-highest minimum wage in the OECD, with 3.3 per cent increase in 2017 being the largest since 2011. Australian small businesses provide 4.7 million jobs, and account for $A378 billion in outputs; Shorten’s plan would spell disaster for the sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Half of minimum wage workers are rich

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Feb-18

An analysis of Household Income & Labour Dynamics in Australia data by the Melbourne Institute has concluded that 13 per cent of people on the minimum wage live in households that have the nation’s highest incomes. The analysis suggests that a large proportion people on the minimum wage are students in the 21-34 age group and in many instances live with their parents. The Melbourne Institute also concluded that just 21 per cent of workers live in households for which the minimum wage is the sole source of income.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Union living wage an $8bn hit on bosses

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Feb-18

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry estimates that the ACTU’s proposal for a "living wage" would cost between $A5bn and $A8bn a year. The ACCI’s Scott Barklamb warns that fixing a living wage at 60 per cent of the median wage by 2020 would require annual increases in the minimum wage that are double the 3.3 per cent rise announced by the Fair Work Commission in 2017. He adds that the living wage proposal would result in job losses and could threaten the viability of some businesses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Living-wage bid could be death of businesses

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 2-Feb-18

Scott Barklamb of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry says small businesses in particular would face a big increase in wage costs if a future government adopted the ACTU’s proposal for a "living wage". The Federal Opposition has indicated that it may consider permanently setting the minimum wage at a proportion of the median wage, although it has not specified what this would be. The ACTU’s target for a living wage is 60 per cent of the median wage, and Workplace Minister Craig Laundy says implementing this target would force many businesses to close.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, THE WORLD BAR

ALP eyes plan to set minimum wage increases

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Feb-18

The Federal Opposition’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor has indicated that a future Labor government could potentially mandate that the minimum wage be permanently fixed at a proportion of the median wage. He says this is among the options that will be considered, but employers’ groups warn that adopting a so-called "living wage" would reduce job opportunities for people on low wages and make small businesses less viable. The ACTU has suggested that a living wage should be set at 60 per cent of the median wage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Shorten war on business

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 31-Jan-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to establishing a national anti-corruption commission if Labor wins the next federal election. He has also signalled plans to either increase the minimum wage or replace it with a so-called "living wage". Meanwhile, business groups have expressed concern over Shorten’s proposal to rebalance enterprise bargaining laws in favour of workers. Private health insurance companies will also be targeted by Shorten, while he has ruled out supporting the Federal Government’s company tax cuts package.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Minister rebuffs ACTU pay push

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Nov-17

The ACTU is seeking to have the minimum wage increased to 60 per cent of the median wage. This would equate to an $A80-per-week rise in the minimum wage, which ACTU secretary Sally McManus says should be phased in as quickly as possible. However, employers’ groups warn that a sharp rise in the minimum wage would deter businesses from taking on more staff, while Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has ruled out any changes to the existing minimum wage regime.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Minimum wage must go: unions

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 1 : 2-Nov-17

The ACTU will push for the minimum wage to be replaced by a "living wage", which would be set at 60 per cent of the median wage. ACTU secretary Sally McManus argues that three million Australians are living below the poverty line due to the minimum wage system, and notes that the Fair Work Commission had conceded that the 3.3 per cent increase in the minimum wage in 2017 will still leave many workers in poverty. She adds that a living wage should be high enough to ensure that families can pay for necessities as well as any unexpected expenses.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Penalty cuts ‘not offset by wage rises’

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 9-Jun-17

ACTU secretary Sally McManus says research undertaken by the Australia Institute debunks claims that a minimum wage increase will offset Sunday penalty rate cuts. The Institute has concluded that the real value of wages earned by someone working on Sundays will decline by almost 25 per cent by June 2021. The Institute’s research was based on the assumption that inflation would increase by 2.5 per cent per annum, and that the minimum wage would rise by three per cent a year.

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED