In the face of criticism from a peak employer body, Labor has maintained its support for an increase in the minimum wage matching the current inflation rate of 5.1%, while hinting that it will make further announcements before the Federal election on Saturday week.
As wage stagnation and cost-of-living issues continue to feature in the federal election campaign, a new report shows Australia has experienced the greatest deceleration in real pay growth in the OECD since 2013, despite its relatively strong employment growth and low unemployment, suggesting that policy and institutional factors are the main culprit, rather than market forces.
In a rare Federal Court ruling on reasonable additional hours, a large employer faces penalties for numerous Fair Work Act and award breaches after being found to have employed a recently-arrived "third-world" migrant on a 50-hour week in which shifts began at 2am.
The RBA has today raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade, due to a rapid increase in inflation and "evidence that wages growth is picking up".
The NTEU says its decision to boost university pay claims from 12% over three years to 15% reflects new realities of skyrocketing inflation and workloads that are going "through the roof" following mass job losses during the height of the pandemic.
The historic work-value case for aged care workers began today with signs the union claim for pay increases of 25% will be closely-scrutinised by employers, with more than 100 witnesses required for cross-examination.
NSW public school teachers will strike next Wednesday over "unmanageable" workloads and a "contemptuous" 2.04% salary cap proposed in the face of teacher shortages, with their union also warning that visits by State Government MPs will prompt walkouts.
The ACTU's first television advertisement of the election campaign seeks to sheet home the blame for wage stagnation to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's "inaction".
Australia's largest bus operator has been fined $181,000 after a judge considered an internal email to its chief executive warning of the "very real possibility of being accused of 'wage theft'" if it did not pay more than 750 drivers an overdue wage increase.
The Federal Court has set a seven-week trial to hear Adero Law's class actions against Coles and Woolworths in tandem with FWO underpayment claims against the retailers, while the law firm seeks about a third of a $2.2 million settlement with Drakes and Foodland.
