Fair pay: it's $10 for you, $38,000 for me!

Jeff Lawrence, ACTU Secretary said:

"Professor Harper gave award workers a measly $10 a week pay rise last year. Many workers only got $5 a week from Professor Harper.

"This pay rise was not enough to cover the increase in the cost of living for award workers who continue to be faced with big increases in the cost of petrol, food and housing.

“Earlier this week Professor Harper said that low paid workers should bear the burden of inflation and be prepared for another real pay cut this year.

"We now find out that he personally got $38,000 a year extra, a 47% increase that was 16 times the rate of inflation.

"This is pure hypocrisy.

"The more than 1.5 million low paid Australians who rely on Professor Harper for the only pay rise they get each year will be shocked to find out he got so much more than they did.

"These are people working hard in cafes, shops, restaurants, bars, in property services as well as in health and community services.

“A majority of the award workers that got just $10 a week from Professor Harper are women.

"It is wrong for high flyers like Professor Harper and other executives to pocket big bonuses while ordinary working families struggle to keep their heads above water.

"Executives have doubled their pay in the last three years while company profits are also at record highs. Professor Harper and other executives should lead by example.

“They should fix up their own backyard and exercise restraint instead of expecting working families to bear the brunt of the fight against inflation,” said Mr Lawrence