At the same time as employer groups are complaining of acute “skills shortages”, and are begging the federal government to open the immigration floodgates, they are pushing back against the unions’ “unsustainable” demands for 3% wage rises:
Key unions have vowed to pursue “significant” annual pay rises of at least 3 per cent in 2022… National union leaders said most employers had the capacity this year to fund above-inflation pay rises and workers were “overdue a big wage correction” after years of wage stagnation…
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said… “During the recovery from the pandemic it is important that wage increases are moderate and sustainable”…