WAGES – AUSTRALIA

Class action firm challenges CFMMEU

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 27-Aug-18

Class action law firm Adero Law is challenging an agreement involving the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. The CFFMEU had secured a 2017 court decision to have an enterprise agreement provided by One Key Workforce, a mining subsidiary of labour hire firm Fircroft, deemed invalid. It has agreed not to pursue the decision if Fircroft pays its members $3.5 million to cover alleged underpayments and enters into an improved labour agreement with the CFMMEU. Adero Law contends that the deal with Fircroft is not in the interest of clients who are former One Key employees and who were not CFFMEU members. CFFMEU president Tony Maher says its agreement does not stop non-union One Key workers seeking compensation for underpayments.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ADERO LAW, ONE KEY WORKFORCE, FIRCROFT GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Wage growth at zero puts lid on rate hikes

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Aug-18

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the national wage price index ­increased by 2.1 per in the year to June, in line with the inflation rate. Wages in the private sector increased by two per cent, compared with 2.4 per cent growth in public sector wages. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital notes that annual wage growth would have been around 1.9 per cent without the increase in the minimum wage. The latest wage data is likely to ensure that official interest rates remain on hold for some time.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Shorten’s fair-pay pledge to workers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Jul-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use an ACTU Congress speech on 17 July to press his industrial relations credentials. He will commit to legislating to ensure that labour-hire firms face prosecution for underpaying their staff. Shorten will argue that such workers should receive the same wages and conditions as directly-employed colleagues who are covered by an enterprise agreement. The Australian Industry Group says Shorten’s proposal would reduce workplace flexibility and make local businesses less competitive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

RBA to keep interest rates on hold until 2020: Macquarie

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 22-Jun-18

Macquarie Group economists Ric Deverell and Justin Fabo forecast that Australia’s unemployment rate will not fall below five per cent until 2020. They warn that "persistent" spare capacity in the economy will ensure that wages growth remains subdued in the near-term. As a result, they do not expect the Reserve Bank to tighten monetary policy until at least 2020. However, they note that a number of domestic and international factors could affect the timing of an interest rate rise.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Wage growth dive makes us glum

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Original article by Peter Martin
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 18 : 21-Jun-18

Growth in Australian wages has traditionally averaged almost four per cent a year, but wages growth had fallen to just two per cent by 2016. Wages growth remains low, despite the fact that the unemployment rate is at around the same level as it was in 2012. The declining influence of unions in the workplace has contributed to the subdued wages growth, as have large-scale job losses in the public and private sectors. In addition, many employers are reining in their wage costs in anticipation of another global financial crisis, given that pay cuts were not feasible during the last one.

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

RBA boss backs income tax cuts

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jun-18

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says the Federal Government’s personal income tax cuts package will contribute to growth in wages. Lowe describes the proposed tax cuts as an "incremental step" in the broader process of tax reform. He has also called for wages to be progressively increased as the economy strengthens, arguing that wages of growth of around three per cent annually is feasible in the longer-term, compared with growth of around two per cent at present. Labor has only committed to supporting the first stage of the tax cuts package.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

OECD’s blue-sky outlook supports budget’s growth projections

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-May-18

The OECD has forecast that the Reserve Bank will be able to commence tightening monetary policy by the end of 2018 due the outlook for the Australian economy. The OECD expects economic growth of 2.9 per cent in 2018 and three per cent in 2019, while further strong growth in the employment market is forecast to have a flow-on effect for wages by the end of 2018. However, the OECD warned that the risks associated with high house prices require "continued vigilance".

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Most lack full-time jobs with benefits

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 29-May-18

Analysis of official data by the Centre for Future Work shows that just 49.97 per cent of full-time workers in Australia had paid leave entitlements in 2017, compared with 51.35 per cent in 2012. The proportion of part-time jobs across the economy has in turn risen from 29.7 per cent to a record 31.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of workers who are underemployed has risen from 7.6 per cent to 9.1 per cent over the last five years. The data also shows that 12.4 per cent of employees in the private sector are now covered by enterprise agreements, down from 18.9 per cent in 2012. However, the proportion of workers covered by industry awards has risen from 16.6 per cent to 23.6 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor leader vows to end great divide, revive wages

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson, John Ferguson, Ben Potter
The Australian – Page: 4 : 28-May-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten told Victorian Labor’s state conference on 27 May that inequality is increasing in Australia. With federal Labor due to face five by-elections on 28 July, Shorten flagged plans to reduce national debt, cut income taxes, and boost education and health funding if Labor wins the next election. The previous day had seen Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews promised to impose jail terms on employers who underpay staff or whose employees are killed on the job.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Wage woes a boon for investors, says Tevfik

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 23-May-18

The S&P/ASX 200 has fallen by an average of 4.3 per cent during May and June over the last decade, and the current trend suggests that it will be trading at around 5,724.8 points by the end of June. However, Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse still expects it to reach 6,500 points by the end of 2018. He says corporate profit margins – and in turn share prices – should benefit from expectations that wages growth will remain subdued. Lack of growth in wages will also affect the timing of any rise in official interest rates, which Credit Suisse does not expect until about mid-2019.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, AUTOMOTIVE HOLDINGS GROUP LIMITED – ASX AHG, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX