The FWC has approved a 2.5% increase in all award rates in its minimum wage ruling handed down this afternoon and has again delayed rises for sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ACTU's latest submission to the FWC's minimum wage panel has seized on Federal Budget forecasts that wage growth will lag behind inflation until 2024-25, arguing it is a "mystery" who else has the power to influence that trajectory.
FWC seeks to identify incidence of workplace FDV policies; Casual terms review timetable pushed back; and AiG calls for reduction in minimum pay delays for COVID-hit sectors.
The ACTU in its submission to this year's minimum wage review will seek a 3.5% increase across all award rates, maintaining that pay growth is crucial for the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Woolworths has agreed to pay more than 100,000 workers delayed increases contained in four of the group's agreements, after the SDA agreed to withdraw legal proceedings commenced this week.
The SDA has failed to head off a double whammy for retail workers whose Sunday penalty rates fall this week despite a delay to minimum wage increases, after an FWC full bench found there was no presumption they should be aligned.
Some retail and pharmacy workers will be more than $4,000 worse off per year when the latest reduction in penalty rates takes effect today, according to new analysis by the Parliamentary Library.
The FWC will tomorrow bring down its much-anticipated decision in this year's minimum wage review, with employers calling for a pay freeze due to the pandemic's impact on business and unions arguing for a 4% rise to stimulate the economy.
Federal Treasury has told the FWC's minimum wage panel to be cautious in accepting predictions of a "very strong snapback" in the unemployment rate, as the economy re-opens after the coronavirus pandemic.
The FWC will today hold its final hearing in this year's minimum wage review, in which employers and unions are divided over whether the domestic economy has started to recover from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
