WAGES – AUSTRALIA

‘Human error’: News Corp salaries, redundancy entitlements emailed to staff

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Original article by Michael Evans
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 29-Nov-18

News Corp Australia has blamed human error for the leaking of confidential salary information. More than 150 News Corp staffers were inadvertently sent an email which outlined the salary packages and redundancy entitlements of several senior employees of the media group. News Corp later issued a statement advising that three of the employees named in the email are leaving or have left the media group; it also said that one of those named "remains a respected member of the team".

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Independent umpire pays the penalty

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 18 : 17-Nov-18

Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia CEO Peter Strong says changes to Sunday and public holiday penalty rates do not seem to have led to more jobs or more hours for existing workers. However, he claims that this is due to increases in the minimum wage that have essentially offset the impact of the cuts, rather than because businesses are retaining the savings that have resulted from the cuts. Meanwhile, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says Labor’s proposed bill to prevent the Fair Work Commission from reducing the take-home pay of any worker is "obviously unfair to employers".

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED VOICE

Wage growth hits a 3-year high

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Original article by David Scutt
Business Insider Australia – Page: Online : 15-Nov-18

Wage price index data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that wages increased by 0.62 per cent in the September quarter and 2.29 per cent year-on-year. The figures also show that real wage growth was 0.4% in the year to September. Meanwhile, public sector wages increased by an average of 2.47 per cent year-on-year, compared with wages growth of just 2.14 per cent in the private sector. The ABS notes that the 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage that took effect in July contributed to wages growth in the September quarter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, INDEED INCORPORATED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Wages data crucial factor for RBA interest rates decision

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Original article by John Kehoe, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 14-Nov-18

The general consensus of economists is for annual wage price index growth of 2.3 per cent when official data for the September quarter is released on 14 November. Paul Bloxham of HSBC says the Reserve Bank could potentially increase the cash rate sooner than expected if WPI growth is stronger than expected. HSBC forecasts that the cash rate will be increased in mid-2019, although financial markets generally do not expect a rate rise until at least November.

CORPORATES
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Wages growth tipped to hasten

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 12-Nov-18

The upcoming release of wage price index data for the September quarter will be a key focus for economists and investors in the next week. The general consensus of economists is for WPI growth of 0.6 per cent for the quarter and 2.3 per cent year-on-year. Felicity Emmett of the ANZ Bank expects a 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage that took effect at the start of July to have increased the WPI by about 0.15 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

RBA says it’s all systems go for booming economy

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 7-Nov-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia is upbeat about the outlook for the domestic economy, forecasting growth of 3.5 per cent in 2018 and 2019. The central bank also expects the unemployment rate to fall to 4.75 per cent over the next two years, while inflation is forecast to rise above its target range in 2019 to an average of 2.25 per cent. Meanwhile, RBA governor Philip Lowe says growth in wages will be gradual. The RBA has again left interest rates on hold, and financial markets do not anticipate any change in monetary policy until 2020.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Hope mounts for improvement in real wages index

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 2-Nov-18

Australia’s wage price index recorded growth of 2.1 per cent year-on-year in the June quarter. The latest wage price index data, to be released on 14 November, will attract close scrutiny after inflation rose by 0.4 per cent in the September quarter and 1.9 per in the year to September. David Bassanese of Betashares notes that the wage price index data for the September quarter will be affected by the 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage that took effect at the start of July.

CORPORATES
BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Migrant workers robbed of $1bn

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 3 : 29-Oct-18

Backpackers and international students are owed more than $1 billion in unpaid wages, according to a study to be released on 29 October. However, only nine per cent of them make an effort to recover their wages. Just three per cent took their case to the Fair Work Commission, but 58 per cent of that group did not recovery any money. The report makes a number of recommendations, including setting up a specific team to assist with migrant workers’ questions and making changes to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s processes

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Technology’s part in the puzzle of why wages won’t rise

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Sep-18

The Reserve Bank still anticipates a gradual increase in wages growth, according to the minutes of its monthly board meeting. Meanwhile, independent economist Geoff Weir has suggested that the rate at which companies adopt new technologies is contributing to the low growth in wages. The central bank will publish a paper by Weir in which he notes that companies which act more quickly to embrace new technologies tend to enjoy higher productivity and profits, with some of these gains being passed on to employees via wage rises.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Wage rises outpacing living costs

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Sep-18

Labour market economist Mark Wooden says that Australia has recorded 31 per cent growth in wages over the last decade, while inflation has increased by just 22 per cent over this period. The director of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia survey notes that the cost of living has not increased significantly in the last year, with big rises in the cost of petrol and electricity being offset by lower prices for some consumer goods. Professor Wooden adds that the HILDA data shows that income inequality has eased slightly in recent years. The HILDA survey is conducted by the University of Melbourne with interviewing conducted by Roy Morgan.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, ROY MORGAN LIMITED