Pay and remuneration page 53 of 74

The Fair Work Commission today conceded that inflated concerns about the impact of minimum wage increases on employment may have led to it being "overly cautious" in past rulings.

The Fair Work Commission has this morning granted award-reliant workers a 3.3% increase, lifting the national minimum wage by $22.20 a week or 59 cents an hour in this year's annual wage review ruling.

The Fair Work Commission has ruled today the contentious decision to cut Sunday penalty rates will be phased-in over four financial years in the retail and pharmacy sectors and over three financial years in hospitality and fast food.

The Fair Work Commission will bring down the 2017 minimum wage review at 11am tomorrow in a ruling that is expected to fall well short of the ambitious claim pushed by the ACTU under new secretary Sally McManus.

Qantas is once again being forced to defend its approach to employee classification, with the FWC today commencing a three-day hearing into allegations the airline is requiring senior catering coordinators to fulfil a similar role at significantly reduced pay after effectively rechristening their positions.

The maverick Federal Nationals MP George Christensen says he will introduce his own private members' bill to protect Sunday penalty rates from being cut.

The FWC has thrown out an employer's argument that a "wide view" of the Fair Work Act allowed it to make four safety officers working on the Gorgon LNG project redundant when they refused to accept a 13% pay cut.

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered a company to pay more than $7,000 in unpaid wages and super to a student visa holder after hearing evidence of a deliberate scheme to exploit young international students working in Australia.

Shadow IR Minister Brendan O'Connor has questioned whether industry awards are operating as a "decent safety net" any more, signalling that Labor is looking at ways to change the Fair Work Act to ensure negotiations over workers' wages and conditions are conducted "on a level playing field".

As the FWC minimum wage panel draws closer to a determination in its annual review, a discussion paper based on surveys of more than 700,000 "lesser skilled" Americans has questioned whether policymakers need to consider mechanisms other than minimum pay rates as a means of improving health outcomes for low-paid workers.