WAGE PAYMENT SYSTEMS – AUSTRALIA

Push for minimum pay for rideshare drivers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 9 : 17-Dec-25

The Transport Workers Union will apply to the Fair Work Commission for minimum pay and conditions for rideshare drivers. The TWU will push for drivers’ minimum hourly rates to reflect the costs of being a contractor – such as vehicle expenses, road tolls and insurance – in addition to their actual work. The TWU’s survey of 1,600 rideshare drivers has found that their average take-home pay is $15 an hour, compared with the award rate of between $26 and $32 for transport workers. The TWU also found that drivers earn an average of just $703 a week after costs, while 59 per cent are skipping meals to save money.

CORPORATES
TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Win on pay but productivity goes begging

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 4-Jun-25

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has welcomed the Fair Work Commission’s decision to grant a pay rise of 3.5 per cent for people on the minimum wage and award wages. The minimum wage will rise by about $32 per week, to $948. McManus notes that the above-inflation wage rise represents a 1.1 per cent increase in real wages. However, the Australian Industry Group’s CEO Innes Willox argues that real wages growth is only sustainable when it is linked to productivity improvements. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese contends that the FWC’s ruling will not increase prices for consumers, while it will ensure that workers do not fall behind with regard to the cost of living.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Cabinet backs above-CPI wage rise for low paid

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-May-25

The newly sworn-in cabinet ministers have approved the federal government’s submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review. The submission will argue the case for an "economically sustainable real wage increase" for workers on the minimum wage and industry award wages. The government has not specified a percentage increase, although it says this must be above the inflation rate. The budget papers in March had forecast an inflation rate of 2.5 per cent in 2024-25 and three per cent in 2025-26. The ACTU has called for a minimum wage rise of 4.5 per cent from 1 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Gender-gap pay rulings a game-changer

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Apr-25

The Fair Work Commission has recommended large pay rises for workers covered by industry awards in sectors that have predominatly female workers. The ACTU says the FWC’s recommendations will directly increase the wages of an estimated 175,000 workers, as well as 335,000 workers whose agreements ae underpinned by awards. Amongst other things, the FWC’s expert panel has recommended a pay rise of to 28.4 per cent for early childhood educators, up to 31.2 per cent for psychologists and up to 14.1 per cent for pharmacists. The proposed wage rises would be phased in over several years, and are in addition to any increase in the minimum wage from July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Balancing act on minimum wage as low paid get 3.75pc

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Jun-24

Fair Work Commission president Adam Hatcher says the cost-of-living pressures facing people who are reliant on modern industry awards was a key factor in its decision to increase the minimum wage by 3.75 per cent. ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the decision will deliver a small real wage increase to the 2.6 million workers on award rates and the minimum wage, although she is disappointed that the FWC has deferred a decision on the peak union body’s push for an additional wage rise of four per cent for workers in female-dominated sectors. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox in turn warns that workers on low wages will be at greater risk of unemployment and underemployment due to the ruling. The minimum wage will increase by $33 per week to $915.90 from 1 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Business chief warns ACTU wage push will add to inflation

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-May-24

The Australian Industry Group estimates that the ACTU’s push for a five per cent increase in the minimum wage would cost $7bn a year. The AiGroup says its own proposal for a 2.8 per cent minimum wage rise would cost just $3.8bn. CEO Innes Willox says the ACTU’s wage claim would boost inflation, cost jobs and ensure that interest rates stay higher for longer. ACTU president Michele O’Neil in turn contends that the peak union body’s proposed minimum wage rise would not be inflationary; she adds that workers’ real wages will go backwards if the Fair Work Commission grants the small increase that has been advocated by employers’ groups.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Cap rise in wages: small business

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Apr-24

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has used its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review to call for the minimum wage increase to be restricted no more than three per cent. COSBOA has argued that the minimum wage and award rates should be increased in line with the Reserve Bank’s inflation target of 2-3 per cent. The group notes that labour costs represent at least 40 per cent of some small businesses’ overall operating costs, while the sector is also facing increased energy, rent, insurance and supply-chain costs.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

5pc minimum wage rise would keep rates high

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 27-Mar-24

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry wants the Fair Work Commission to limit the annual minimum wage rise to no more than two per cent. The employers’ group contends that inflation is expected to fall to three per cent, productivity is declining and the FWC has overcompensated for inflation in previous minimum wage decisions. The ACTU in turn is seeking an above-inflation minimum wage increase of five per cent, which ACCI CEO Andrew McKellar says would ensure that interest rates remain high. He adds that wage costs are still a problem for small and medium enterprises, and a large increase in the minimum wage would have an impact on hiring decisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

ACTU’s 5pc wage push sets up showdown

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Mar-24

The ACTU will use its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual minimum wage review to call for an above-inflation increase of five per cent. This would increase the minimum wage to $24.39 an hour, or $48,200 a year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that workers on the lowest pay are hardest hit by inflation, and they need a pay rise of five per cent to make up for the real wage losses over the last several years. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry will in turn push for the minimum wage to be increased by no more than two per cent, following a large rise in both the minimum wage and award wages in 2023.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Low-pay hike to drive up prices

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Jun-22

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the 5.2 per cent increase in the minimum wage, contending that many low-paid workers carried Australia through the pandemic. The minimum wage will rise by $40 a week to $812, while workers on higher award rates will receive a wage increase of 4.6 per cent. However, Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says businesses face additional costs of $7.9bn, and he warns that they will either have to absorb the costs or pass them on to customers. The Australian Retailers Association’s CEO Paul Zahra says economic conditions for the retail sector are already challenging, and the minimum wage increase could force some to close.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION