Wage rises in private sector enterprise agreements remain marooned at 2.6%, while public sector increases have dropped back to recent trends, according to new Attorney-General's Department data that appears to confirm that the pandemic has accelerated the long-running decline in bargaining.
The CPSU has stepped up its criticism of the Morrison Government's public sector wages policy, saying it demands that workers sign up to "unknown" pay rises beyond the first year of new enterprise deals.
After more than a decade of sub-4% growth in pay, Treasury has projected in its Intergenerational Report, released today, that it will return to that level in 2028 as productivity resumes its long-term growth path of 1.5%.
Bargained wage rises in the private sector show little sign of pushing towards the "materially higher" benchmark set by the RBA, growing at 2.6% for the second quarter in a row, while public sector bargaining collapsed.
The Berejiklian Coalition Government will relax its COVID-19 public sector wage freeze from July 1, moving back to the former 2.5%-a-year cap, and introduce paid leave for workers who suffer a stillbirth or miscarriage.
Woolworths has confirmed it will pay the 2.5% minimum wage increase to employees from the first week of next month, avoiding a repeat of the dispute it had last year with retail unions over the timing of pay rises to workers in its supermarkets and Big W stores.
Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe has today added a new reason to his long list of why employers are not lifting wages - the "laser-like focus on costs" that has become the "predominant mindset" of many businesses.
Victoria's Andrews Labor Government has allocated $9.6 million to develop a new "fast track model" for hearing wage theft cases in the State's Magistrates' Court.
