Australia’s lowest‑paid workers will earn more than $1000 a week for the first time, after the Fair Work Commission delivered a 4.75 per cent wage increase affecting almost three million employees.
The decision, announced Tuesday as part of the Commission’s annual wage review, lifts award wages across the economy but it has also sparked warnings from businesses and economists who fear the rise could add fuel to inflation and increase pressure on the Reserve Bank to lift interest rates again.
Around 100,000 minimum‑wage workers will receive an even larger boost, with a six per cent increase taking their pay to $26.44 an hour. The Commission said the adjustment was necessary to ensure wages kept pace with living costs, but acknowledged the broader economic uncertainty, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which continues to threaten global price stability.
Australia’s headline inflation sits at 4.2 per cent over the year to April, according to the ABS, but the Reserve Bank expects it to climb to 4.8 per cent by the end of June. That trajectory has intensified debate over whether wage rises risk embedding inflation or whether they are essential to help workers recover from years of real‑wage losses following the post‑COVID price surge.
The ACTU had pushed for a six per cent increase across the board, arguing that workers remain behind in real terms and need a meaningful catch‑up. Employer groups, meanwhile, warned that higher labour costs could force businesses to raise prices or cut staff.
The ruling marks a significant milestone for low‑paid Australians but one that lands squarely in the middle of the nation’s most delicate economic balancing act.
+ There are no comments
Add yours