The peak body for working people has a message 2.3 million people paid under awards – check your next few payslips.
In the first full pay period after July 1, everyone working under an award should get a 3.5 percent raise to all award rates.
No adult worker in Australia can be paid less than the new minimum hourly rate: $18.93 per hour, and $23.66 per hour for a casual worker. And in many industries the legal minimum is even higher, as all awards are set to increase by 3.5 percent.
Workers under an award who do not receive an increase in their payslip should contact their union or call the ACTU on 1300 486 466 during business hours.
Unfortunately for hundreds of thousands of workers, the increase in the minimum wage also comes with the second round of the Turnbull Government’s cuts to penalty rates.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus:
“Our message for the 2.3 million people working under awards today is to check your playslip very carefully.
If you think you might not be getting what you’re owed call the ACTU on 1300 486 466 business hours, or contact your union.
“Anyone working under an award should get a 3.5 percent pay rise that working people won through their unions.
“This is a first important step towards restoring a living wage for all working people. The union movement is fighting for new rules so all working Australians – whether they work under awards or on agreements, can get the pay rises they need to pay for the basics of life.
“The Turnbull Government has presided over wage cuts and growth in insecure work while splashing tax cuts around for corporations and those earning over $200,000 per year. Their trickle down model has failed.
“Unions want get you a pay rise. Malcolm Turnbull’s government stands for pay cuts for everyone except big business and the very rich.”