A Living Wage & Minimum Wage

The Abbott Government is considering a plan to cut the minimum wage every year for ten years which would have catastrophic consequences for Australia's lowest paid workers. ACTU President Ged Kearney that striking new analysis by the ACTU showed that the plan to aggressively drive down the minimum wage would…

Australia's minimum wage will be reduced to 44% of average weekly earnings, wiping off $136 per week in today's dollars, if the Commission of Audit recommendations are accepted by the Government. ACTU President Ged Kearney said this radical move represented the biggest attack on Australian wages since the Great depression.…

The Federal Government's Commission of Audit report released today in Canberra recommends a real cut to the minimum wage every year for a decade, and then for it to be scrapped. The ACTU attacked the Commission of Audit report as a blueprint written by the big business lobby for the…

A $27 wage rise per week for our lowest paid workers is essential if Australia is to avoid creating an underclass of working poor, unions say. ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said that new research contained within the ACTU submission to the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review shows that if…

A pay rise for apprentices awarded by the Fair Work Commission will see more people complete vocational training and boost the skill level of the Australian workforce, the ACTU said today. The Commission has awarded significant pay rises to first and second year apprentices as well as people who start…

Australian business is again pushing to cut wages with the Business Council of Australia saying that penalty rates should be re-examined and that the minimum wage could be 'a problem'. ACTU President Ged Kearney said the BCA's action plan released today showed some vision for Australia so it was disappointing…

Unions will today be reminding Australian workers to check they are not missing out on wage increases which should have automatically come into effect at the start of the new financial year. ACTU President Ged Kearney said unions have declared Friday, 12 July as National "Check Your Pay Day" to…

Australia's lowest paid workers will from today receive an extra $15.80 in their weekly pay packet, as a result of this year's National Minimum Wage review. ACTU President Ged Kearney said about 1.5 million workers had been granted a pay rise of 2.6% , helping them and their families keep…

Today's decision by the Fair Work Commission to raise the minimum wage by just $15.80 a week is a very poor outcome which will see 1.5 million low-paid workers and their families fall further behind, the ACTU says. ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said the Fair Work Commission had missed an…

The Fair Work Commission must use its annual review of the minimum wage to lift it by $30 per week and start to close the pay gap which is hurting low-paid workers. Hearings began in the FWC today to consider the ACTU's submission to raise the minimum wage from $15.96…