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As usual, business groups are lobbying the Fair Work Commission hard to ensure the minimum wage rises by far less than inflation.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has asked for a 3.5% minimum wage increase, or 75c an hour, to $841.04 a week.
That would be less than half the December quarter inflation rate, which was 7.8%, and would see real wages continue to plummet.
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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.