Suppressed wage growth and rising inequality pose a threat to both Australia's economy and its political stability, according to former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan, who used a party-sponsored conference on the weekend to confirm that his personal economic settings had been "moved to the left" by the GFC.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe's jawboning on wages is yet to have an effect, with the ABS confirming today that growth in private sector rates of pay remains in the doldrums and is now in lockstep with cost of living increases.
Leading online jobs marketplace SEEK has told a Senate inquiry into the future of work that Australians face a "significant shock" as technological forces continue to drive wages down, while the Productivity Commission has warned that digital disruption might ultimately require the introduction of a universal basic income.
Real non-farm unit labour costs have grown strongly in trend terms for the second quarter in a row, while gross value added per hour worked in the market sector has now increased for 26 of the past 27 quarters, according to ABS national accounts data released today.
United Voice is today staging a protest outside a Melbourne restaurant at the centre of a bartender's underpayments claim and says its investigation of the state's hospitality sector exposes the city as the "wage theft capital of Australia".
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency says "remarkable" growth in employers analysing their data for gender pay gaps means more than half now have formal strategies to address imbalances, but its annual scorecard reveals the overall $26,527 gender pay gap has decreased only marginally.
Private sector rates of pay excluding bonuses are growing at 1.9% a year in trend terms, up from the recent historic low of 1.8%, according to the ABS.
The region that at the height of the resources boom employed one in 200 Australian workers but accounted for a massive 20% of the nation's export income is critical to understanding Australian IR, Sydney University academic Bradon Ellem told a recent conference.
The FWC's minimum wage panel has decided against holding a preliminary hearing to consider new research on the budget required to sustain a healthy lifestyle, after the proposal only won support from Catholic employers.