There are more workers on collective agreements who are now getting better pay rises due to the recent IR reforms that have improved collective bargaining, according to new data released today.
There are now 2.6 million workers covered by a current Federally registered collective agreement, up by more than 824,000 workers, or 45.8 per cent, since the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms to improve bargaining passed in December 2022.
These agreements are delivering above inflation pay rises of 3.7 percent, and higher than the Wage Price Index, the national measure of wages on 3.2 percent.
Wage rises in agreements approved in the December quarter increased by 4.8 percent, up strongly on the previous quarter’s wage growth of 3.6 percent. This represents a pay boost of nearly $3,800 in 2025 for a worker on average weekly earnings.
Wage rises in newly approved agreements have delivered above inflation pay rises for the past five consecutive quarters.
This was partly due to the approval of a new multi-employer agreement for 91,000 workers in early childhood education and care, and an additional 327,000 workers now being covered by collective bargaining.
Wage increases were even higher for workers covered by union-negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
Employees on collective agreements have been able to secure pay outcomes about $200 per week more than employees not on agreements, according to the ABS.
The results come after business lobby groups and the Dutton-led opposition heavily criticised the bargaining reforms on economic grounds. The only significant impact the reforms have had is to get wages moving, a conclusion reinforced in a recent independent review of Secure Jobs Better Pay and by today’s data.
The ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts announced in the Federal Budget on Tuesday night will also help boost annual wages for up to 3 million directly affected workers by up to 4 percent, an estimated $2,500 for a worker on average wages.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus:
“The ACTU call on the Coalition to support new bargaining laws which are delivering for working Australians and renounce their threats to repeal multi-employer bargaining when they finally release their election policy. Working people are benefiting from these reforms as they are delivering much needed pay rises.
“You can’t be serious about addressing the cost of living and also support cutting workers’ rights. Without collective bargaining delivering decent pay rises, real wages for everyone cannot grow. This is what happened under almost a decade of the previous Coalition government where a broken bargaining system was unable to do the heavy lifting.
“Working people will be watching to see if wages get a mention at all in tonight’s Budget Reply speech, and then whether the Coalition is simply picking up on big business demands to bring back the wage-cutting schemes that kept wages deliberately low for a decade.”
