Australian Unions have branded Coalition Leader, Peter Dutton’s Budget reply as abandoning workers’ wage growth and job security.
The Opposition Leader didn’t mention the word ‘wages’ once in his speech despite declaring this a ‘cost-of-living election,’
The Coalition’s plans, if elected, would put at risk the sustained real wages growth now occurring under the Albanese Government, after a decade of stagnant wages under the previous Coalition Government.
Today’s figures show new pay deals are delivering pay rises of 4.7 percent, the highest in nearly 30 years. A worker on average earnings on one of these new agreements is getting an average pay rise this year of nearly $3,800.
Working people need wages to continue to lift, along with the Albanese Government’s new tax cuts that benefit low-income people, young people and women the most.
The Coalition’s doubling down on its pledge to axe 41,000 public sector jobs will hurt employment in suburbs and regions throughout Australia.
Seventy per cent of the new jobs created under Labor to be cut by Dutton are not based in Canberra.
This will compromise the nation’s ability to combat fire and flood emergencies, support veterans and pensioners, maintain Medicare, run health clinics and manage the NDIS.
Dutton’s gas plan is a distraction from his nuclear power pledge that will push up power bills by $665 a year and take twenty years to come online.
One of his nuclear power plants would be so expensive it could cover the entire wage bill of the Commonwealth public sector three times over. That makes his commitments on protecting frontline services sound especially hollow.
Peter Dutton’s energy policies will both push up household energy prices and abandon workers in sectors where jobs are being lost now.
Quotes attributable to ACTU President, Michele O’Neil:
“You can’t address cost of living pressures by cutting wages and services.
“Instead of wages, Peter Dutton talked about ripping away rights for casuals and other rights for workers, but again, silence on his wages policy. The problem is, Peter Dutton can never really support workers because his major donor like Gina Rinehart won’t let him.
“A Peter Dutton led Coalition wants to wind back real wages growth and abandon the government’s tax cuts worth $2,548 a year for an average worker.
“Peter Dutton’s plan for workers is for lower wages and higher taxes.
“He talked about cutting 41,000 public sector workers’ jobs but made no mention of the huge cost to those Australians who rely on the NDIS, veterans, pensioners and the unemployed. He won’t back a wage rise for workers, but he’ll sack tens of thousands of Australians to instead pay large consultancy fees to his big business mates.
“Peter Dutton repeated his commitment to tear up protections for casual workers by letting bosses call anyone they employ a casual. His only new commitment to workers tonight was that they might be lucky enough to get another shift serving bosses their free lunch at taxpayers’ expense.”
