Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has signed submission to the Fair Work Commission, recommending that “lowest-paid workers not go backwards.”
Labor government has asked the Fair Work Commission to target the lowest paid for large minimum wage increases.
They have also requested the Fair Work Commission to draw a distinction with millions of other workers who are on a higher award rates.
The Prime Minister has blamed the previous Liberal government for making “costs are harder to meet because of a decade of deliberate decisions” that kept the “wages low.
However, the Prime Minister has not specified the rate to which the minimum wage should be raised.
PM Albanese told ABC that the submission is consistent with what he said during the election campaign: “There won’t be a number in the submission. What there will be though, is the strong view that we have, that people who are on the minimum wage simply can’t afford a real wage cut.”
This hesitation on not recommending comes after “absolutely” endorsing an increase of at least 5.1 per cent during the Federal election campaign.
The Reserve Bank has also noted recently that wages growth in Australia doesn’t align with the soaring inflation.
The Fair Work Commission is going to meet today to carry out its annual wage review that would affect three million people.
The national minimum wage for Australia’s lowest paid workers is $20.33 per hour. The Australian Council of Trade Unions in their submission has requested for a 5.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage to $21.45 per hour.
