CPI figures released by the ABS today shows that inflation has risen to 6.1%, an increase of 1.8% for the June quarter.
This means that working Australians have lost an entire decade of wage growth, exacerbating an already severe cost of living crisis. In the last year alone, a worker on the average annual income of $69k will have experienced a $2350 pay cut.
Wages have gone backwards for over a decade, made worse by the erosion of workers’ rights and a broken bargaining system in drastic need of an overhaul.
Groceries, fuel prices, clothing and footwear – essential items for working people – being some of the main contributing factors, alongside new housing prices.
Meanwhile, big businesses continue to pass cost increases on to consumers, which the RBA stated was a contributing factor to the historically high inflation rate.
Quotes attributable to ACTU President Michele O’Neil
“The Jobs Summit will give us an opportunity to address the wages crisis, and to fix a bargaining system that has been decimated by a series of Coalition governments hellbent on taking power away from workers.
“We can’t expect Australians to spend their hard-earned money on discretionary items if they can barely afford the necessities. We need fair and equitable wages and we need them now.”
“The need to get wages moving again is urgent. ‘Business as usual’ will not turn this around; it will not fix this.”
“Working Australians are receiving huge pay cuts in real terms, while big businesses are lining their pockets with record-high profits.
