The RBA has today raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade, due to a rapid increase in inflation and "evidence that wages growth is picking up".
Just weeks before the May 21 election, annual consumer price inflation has surged to 5.1% annually in the March quarter, well ahead of private sector wage growth of 2.4%, which remains near historic lows.
Women are half as likely as men to engage in digital platform work and earn between 10% and 37% less when they do so, according to a Victorian Government-commissioned report that will inform State-based standards for the gig economy.
Unions must adopt inventive strategies such as those used by Hospo Voice and RAFFWU to connect with and recruit workers, alongside the organising model used for the past 20 years, but legislative change is also necessary to enable multi-employer bargaining and allow industry-wide or supply-chain based protected action in support of it, according to a leading IR academic.
The ABS has confirmed COVID-19-driven absences of quadruple the normal level in January and almost double last month, when unemployment fell to a record-equalling 4%.
In a potential signal ahead of this year's annual wage review, New Zealand will next month raise its minimum wage by 6% on the back of higher-than-expected inflation.
Private sector rates of pay excluding bonuses increased by 2.4% annually in the December quarter, unchanged from the September quarter, but accelerated slightly over the last three months of the year, according to the ABS.
A spike in consumer price inflation, confirmed by the ABS today, might combine with labour shortages to put pressure on wage rises, which remain near historic lows.
An IR specialist has told a labour law conference that if employees can demonstrate it will not reduce productivity or service, it might become increasingly difficult for employers to validly refuse flexibility requests for four-day working weeks.