The Women's Economic Equality Taskforce is urging the Albanese Government to make room in the May Budget for an interim pay rise for all early childhood educators and aged care workers and to ensure primary carers accrue super while on paid parental leave.
The FWC has speculated that an energy company in the midst of a $1.5 billion buying spree "presumably has a contingency plan in place" after rejecting its bid to have thousands of new employees covered by a 12-year-old deal that would leave some on below-award wages.
The Albanese Government has outlined for the first time the details of how it might implement its "same job, same pay" proposal that it framed to ensure labour hire arrangements are not used to undercut employees' pay and conditions.
Multi-year enterprise agreements, flaws in the "standard" Wage Price Index measure and public sector pay caps partially explain recent low wages growth, which would otherwise have been up to one percentage point higher last year, according to new university analysis.
Private sector rates of pay increased to 3.6% annually in the December quarter, up from 3.4% in the previous three-month period, according to the ABS, but relatively low public sector rises have restricted the economy-wide movement to 3.3%.
Users can register now for the FWC's new digital tool to integrate minimum award rates of pay, allowances, overtime and penalty rates data into accounting software and payroll systems, ahead of its March 20 launch, while the tribunal is also about to release a range of other "digital transformation" initiatives.
Employers say the remuneration bill for workers with a disability covered by the Supported Employment Services Award might increase by up to 50% following variations that the FWC says will give them a "truly comprehensive range of fair minimum wages" for the first time.
The HSU and the ANMF say the Fair Work Act's new secure work and gender equality objectives will bolster and simplify their work value case on behalf of aged care workers, proposing that Federal Government submissions should address the changes.
Private sector rates of pay increased to 3.4% annually in the September quarter, up from 2.7% in the previous three-month period, according to the ABS, but aneamic public sector rises have restricted the economy-wide rise to 3.1%.
The Albanese Government is forecasting in its first Budget that wage growth won't exceed headline consumer price inflation until the end of next financial year.
