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Summer 2004

ACTU seeks $26.60 Minimum Wage Rise

The ACTU has announced it will seek a $26.60 a week wage rise for around 1.6 million award workers in the annual Minimum Wages Case.

This case will affect a number of HACSU members who are not on enterprise agreements.

Announcing the 2005 Minimum Wages Claim, ACTU Secretary, Greg Combet, said if successful, the union claim will raise full time workers wages from the current $467.40 a week to $494 a week.

Most award workers are women in part time and casual jobs who often serve the needs of others in the hospitality, retail, health, childcare and community sectors. They deserve a pay rise.

The ACTU will argue that a decent rise in the minimum wage is also justified by the strength of the economy and the sustained increases in the productivity of employees in industries heavily reliant on award workers.

The $26.60 a week claim is moderate and economically responsible. It would have no negative impact on employment levels and is costed to add only 0.1% to economy-wide earnings and as little as 0.06% to inflation. This claim is about ensuring low paid workers get a fair share of the benefits of a strong economy.

The average pay rise for Australia's top 100 CEOs last year was 47% -- more than ten times the average pay rise of 4.5% that award workers would receive if the claim succeeds.

The ACTU calls on the Coalition Government to support the ACTU claim.

The Howard Government has opposed the ACTU Minimum Wage claim every year since coming to office, despite paying lip service to the needs of blue-collar workers in the recent election.

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission will hear the case in February next year with a decision likely in May 2005.