Private sector rates of pay excluding bonuses increased by 2.4% annually in the December quarter, unchanged from the September quarter, but accelerated slightly over the last three months of the year, according to the ABS.
Employers have succeeded in winning a short delay to the introduction of a minimum wage guarantee in the horticulture award after a FWC bench accepted they needed time to revise their payroll systems and recruitment practices.
Menulog appears to have suffered a self-inflicted wound in its quest to establish a gig economy beachhead within the existing IR framework, the FWC finding its workers fall under an award that pays more than the one it currently relies upon.
The FWC has waved away as "disingenuous" an employer's claim that it would be left with no employees if it offered award-level entitlements in a proposed deal, observing that various guarantees and undertakings are no substitute for the detail needed to properly conduct a BOOT assessment.
A spike in consumer price inflation, confirmed by the ABS today, might combine with labour shortages to put pressure on wage rises, which remain near historic lows.
The FWC has warned employers that the "clock is ticking" for Work Choices "zombie" agreements in rebuffing a large employer's bid to keep a 2008 flat-rate deal operating until May or June, coinciding with the 10-year anniversary of its nominal expiry.
A construction supply company's bid to suspend protected action for a fortnight so it can better engage with picketing union members has fallen flat in the FWC.
McDonald's has been hit with a second Federal Court case over its alleged failure to provide paid rest breaks, with a RAFFWU-backed class action claiming thousands of past and present workers are potentially owed millions over the "systemic" issue.
