Minimum Wage claim
23 March, 2009 | Submission
The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) has conducted three reviews of minimum wages in Australia. The ACTU welcomed the decision of the AFPC in the 2008 Wages Review to provide one level of increase to all minimum wages workers.
The period June 2005 to October 2008 was a period of economic prosperity in Australia. During this period minimum wages above the level of the Federal Minimum Wage have fallen in real terms. The Federal Minimum Wage has just kept pace with inflation over that period.
The ACTU totally rejects the notion that employees who depend on minimum wages should suffer a cut in real wages, either in times of economic prosperity or in times of slowing economic growth. The ACTU also rejects the views of those who seek to use the current economic downturn as a justification for further reductions in real minimum wages.
The ACTU seeks wage increases for all minimum wages workers to ensure working families can maintain and improve their standards of living, and requests a $21.00 increase in all pay scale wage rates. If granted the ACTU request would take the Federal Minimum Wage to $564.78 per week or $14.86 per hour, and the benchmark Tradespersons rate to $658.64 per week or $17.33 per hour. This request is within the Treasury estimate of wages growth for 2008-09 and 2009-2010.
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