I have been doing pay negotiations for 30 years and I’ve never been to a meeting where an employer told me the time was right for a pay rise.
There’s always a reason why they can’t spare the money just now. I’m pretty sure that’s how it will be with the union movement’s bid to get a pay rise of at least $30-a-week for 1.5 million low-paid workers who depend on a decent minimum wage.
Employers have opposed every bid we’ve ever made to lift minimum wages, in some years demanding no pay rise at all. If the Fair Work Commission had accepted the employers’ positions since 2000, the minimum wage would be about $120 less than it is today.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants this year’s minimum wage rise to be just $5.80 per week – less than a one per cent increase.
I’ll probably be accused of “class warfare” for daring to disagree with employer groups on this, but I’ll go ahead.
Unions are campaigning for a $30-per-week minimum wage increase because it puts money in the pockets of the workers who look after the elderly, clean our buildings and staff our shops.
Many of these people are trying to look after families on an income of $606 per week. For most of them, the annual minimum wage case is the only time they get a pay rise.
The minimum wage has fallen behind average wages and is barely keeping up with inflation. It is now 43% of the average wage – down from 49% in 2005. A family relying on a minimum wage earner is falling further behind the rest of society every year.
A $30-per-week increase for the 1.5 million lowest paid workers is a reasonable ask at a time when living costs are increasing. Australia’s economy is stronger than most countries and we have not seen rises in unemployment or drops in productivity as a result of previous wage rises.
During the 1990s, wage rises kept pace with productivity but, since 2000, productivity rises have jumped ahead of wage increases.
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