The latest wage price index figures show that working people need more power to negotiate pay rises.
The ABS Wage Price Index figures for calendar 2018 revealed wages growth of 0.6 percent over the quarter to December 2017, giving a near-record low annual wages growth figure of 2.1 percent.
These figures compound the wages crisis that Australia is currently experiencing with the lowest wages growth on record despite almost 27 years of continuous economic growth.
Last week’s labour force figures showed that the Turnbull Government has presided over the destruction of 50,000 full-time jobs.
There are currently 1.1 million Australians who are under-employed.
These figures taken together describe a country where working people have difficulty getting the good, secure jobs and pay rises that they need to thrive.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Assistant Secretary Scott Connolly:
“Australia needs a pay rise.”
“Working people get pay rises when they have the power to negotiate them.”
“Right now big corporations have too much power and working people have too little. We need to change the rules so that there is a fair power balance between working people and big business.”
“Corporate tax cuts won’t get people pay rises – they just shift wealth to big corporations.”
“Working people need the power to negotiate pay rises so our economy gets us where we want to go.”
ENDS
