Public supports wage growth

Polling commissioned by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has found that 40% of respondents support a 5.1% boost in minimum wages in line with inflation, while another 27% support an increase by a smaller amount.

The issue of stagnating wages and cost of living is high on the agenda as voters go to the polls tomorrow.
Data released today by the ABS has confirmed the worst real wage growth figures in over twenty years. In the Guardian Greg Jericho wrote that  ‘so bad has been the fall that real wages are now essentially no different from what they were when Tony Abbott took office in 2013.’
 
Inflation for the year to March 2022 is now more than twice as high as wage growth in Australia – inflation is currently at 5.1%

The union movement is arguing in the Fair Work Commission for a 5.5% increase to the minimum wage, an increase designed to prevent further real wage cuts for a quarter of all workers.

The opposition leader Anthony Albanese earlier this week said he supported a minimum wage rise in line with inflation, whilst Morrison has voiced concern about the impact of wage rises on the economy, claiming it will result in an inflationary spiral.

Ultimately the Fair Work Commission will decide the growth in the minimum wage during the Annual Wage Review.