National unions have asked for an increase of $30 per week in the minimum wage.
In its submission to the Fair Work Commission annual review of the national minimum wage on which up to 1.8 million Australians depend, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has asked for the full-time wage for adults to be increased from $656.90 to $686.90 per week. That would raise the hourly rate from $17.29 to $18.08.
ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said a $30 a week rise in the minimum wage "is vital if we're to halt the alarming slide in living standards that is threatening the economic wellbeing of one in five Australians".
He said the economy is picking up steam and corporate profits are rebounding.
"But wage growth has stalled despite Australian workers being more productive than ever," he said. "It's time to give minimum wage workers a pay rise."
The ACTU wants award minimum wages up to and including the benchmark C10 tradespersons' award rate to be increased by $30 per week. It argues that shrinking wages are contributing to inequality and the development of an underclass of working poor.
Minimum wage earners are more likely to be young, female workers in casual or part-time roles.
Lauren Wilson, 29, who works at a call centre in South Melbourne says the proportion of her salary spent on rent has increased from 30 per cent to 50 per cent in the past five years. She is also studying to become a community services worker and is completing the course online.
She earns $19.10 per hour "which is the minimum a person in an outsourced contact call centre can earn".
"In the five years I have been working in this job my cost of living has substantially increased," she said.
"I am making enough money so that I am not eligible for any discounts or support services, but the cost of living is going up and you really feel that squeeze."
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In its submission to the Fair Work Commission annual review of the national minimum wage on which up to 1.8 million Australians depend, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has asked for the full-time wage for adults to be increased from $656.90 to $686.90 per week. That would raise the hourly rate from $17.29 to $18.08.
ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said a $30 a week rise in the minimum wage "is vital if we're to halt the alarming slide in living standards that is threatening the economic wellbeing of one in five Australians".
He said the economy is picking up steam and corporate profits are rebounding.
"But wage growth has stalled despite Australian workers being more productive than ever," he said. "It's time to give minimum wage workers a pay rise."
The ACTU wants award minimum wages up to and including the benchmark C10 tradespersons' award rate to be increased by $30 per week. It argues that shrinking wages are contributing to inequality and the development of an underclass of working poor.
Minimum wage earners are more likely to be young, female workers in casual or part-time roles.
Lauren Wilson, 29, who works at a call centre in South Melbourne says the proportion of her salary spent on rent has increased from 30 per cent to 50 per cent in the past five years. She is also studying to become a community services worker and is completing the course online.
She earns $19.10 per hour "which is the minimum a person in an outsourced contact call centre can earn".
"In the five years I have been working in this job my cost of living has substantially increased," she said.
"I am making enough money so that I am not eligible for any discounts or support services, but the cost of living is going up and you really feel that squeeze."
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