Minimum wage rulings page 11 of 12

The income and compensation caps for unfair dismissal claims will increase from July 1 to $136,700 and $68,350.

Federal Labor in opposition made its first-ever submission to a national wage case because of the critical role of the minimum wage in driving consumption and ensuring the dignity of ordinary workers, the party’s leader, Bill Shorten, told the ACTU’s Congress today.

The Abbott Government has urged the Fair Work Commission to take a "cautious approach" in this year's minimum wage review due to below-trend GDP growth and a slower than expected recovery in non-mining sectors, while the ACTU says the small business measures in the Budget "dramatically improve the affordability" of pay rises in the award-reliant sector.

The former Labor Government's changes to the modern award objective have made it impossible for 24/7 industries such as hospitality to successfully prosecute cases to abolish penalty rates and should be scrapped, according to the peak body for restaurant employers.

The ACTU will ask the Fair Work Commission for an extra 0.5% in award superannuation to compensate for the Abbott Government's freezing of Labor's scheduled increases to the guarantee levy, in its submission to this year's annual wage review to be lodged on Friday.

A positive economic outlook and sustained labour productivity improvement are key factors in yesterday's Fair Work Commission's decision to award a 3% increase to award rates of pay, with the minimum wage panel again advising employer groups that they need to introduce more rigour to their surveys if they are to have any influence on the tribunal's deliberations.

The Fair Work Commission has this afternoon awarded the nation's award-reliant workers a 3% increase, lifting the national minimum wage by $18.70, in this year's annual wage review ruling.

The ACTU's bid to remove former senior public servant Tony Cole from this year's annual wage review has failed, after he told the peak body in a consultation hearing this morning that he would not step down because he was not a party to the Audit Commission's recommendation to reduce the minimum wage.

The ACTU's request for a member of the Fair Work Commission's minimum wage review panel to stand aside is expected to come to a head at a hearing in Melbourne tomorrow.

The Fair Work Commission has pushed the federal and state governments to show their hands in this year's wage review, asking them what dollar or percentage increase would constitute a "cautious" or "balanced" approach.