Increase in minimum wage

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

The extra $16 per week will help the lowest paid even if the offside is a possible reduction in employees by small business.

Minimum wage to rise by 2.5 per cent in Australia

 

• NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA NETWORK
  
• JUNE 02, 2015 2:37PM
  

 

 

 

Australian workers will get more for the minimum wage.

 

 

AUSTRALIA’S 1.86 million lowest-paid workers are getting a lower pay rise this year, with the minimum wage going up by $16 a week.

The Fair Work Commission has awarded a 2.5 per cent wage rise for workers who are reliant upon minimum rates of pay, compared to three per cent last year.Fair Work Commission president Justice Iain Ross said the most significant economic change since last year’s wage review was the reduction in inflation and aggregate wages growth.“We have had particular regard to the lower growth in consumer prices and aggregate wages growth over the past year because they have a direct bearing on relative living standards and the needs of the low paid,” he said on Tuesday.“The lower inflation and aggregate wages growth has favoured a more modest increase in minimum wages.” The weekly minimum wage will rise by $16 to $656.90 from July 1. The increase falls below the $27 a week rise the ACTU wanted, but above the $5.70-$10.25 increase argued by business groups. Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said the increase was a reasonable compromise although he was still concerned about jobs in the industry.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which wanted an increase of no more than $5.70 a week, said the awarded rise sits above the rate of inflation.“We hold concerns that this increase is too high against the backdrop of softening labour market conditions and an economy undergoing structural adjustment,” ACCI director of employment, education and training Jenny Lambert said.“Most small businesses run on lean margins, operate in a price-sensitive environment and are unable to pass these costs on to consumers. So there is a real prospect it will lead to firms reducing staff numbers or the hours offered.”