FWC lifts minimum wage by 1.75%

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Just in from the Fair Work Commission (FWC):

Key points:

  • FWC has announced a rise to the national minimum wage of $13 per week or an increase of 1.75%.
  • Under the changes, full-time workers on minimum wage will earn $753.80 a week or $19.84 per hour.
  • President Iain Ross said making “no increase” to wages would “amount to a real wage cut” based on data there had been an “increase in the proportion of low-paid income households”.
  • At the same time, Ross argued it would be a failure of the commission not to consider the post-coronavirus economic climate and bow to union demands of a four per cent increase.
  • “The shock to the labour market warrants more weight being given to the potential impact of increasing minimum wages on hiring and re-employment,” Ross said.
  • “Awarding an increase of the size proposed by the ACTU would pose a real risk of disemployment and of adversely affecting the employment opportunities of the low-skilled and young workers.”
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.