The AiG says the FWC should take into account the Budget's substantial cost-of-living relief for the low-paid in granting an increase no higher than 3.8% in this year's minimum wage case, while the Albanese Government says there are "no signs" of a wage-price spiral and reiterates its view that the real wages of low-paid workers should not "go backwards".
The RBA is continuing to warn about the dangers of a wage-price spiral, saying the chances of it have declined, but could rise again if the FWC awards a "large" minimum rise this year or government employers ease or drop pay caps.
The ACTU says it would be "offensive" not to heed new Fair Work Act gender equality and secure work objectives that significantly boost the case for a bigger lift to the minimum wage and award rates given the over-representation of award-reliant women in low-paid, insecure jobs.
The Catholic Council for Employment Relations is calling for a 7.2% boost to the minimum wage and the rates of many award-reliant workers to help close the poverty gap by 2030, arguing the FWC wrongly rejected its stance last year on what constitutes a safety net.
The Albanese Government will urge the FWC's minimum wage panel to award an inflation-matching increase to the lowest-paid workers, but will stop short of pushing for an across-the-board increase for workers on higher award classifications.
The FWC's minimum wage review should order an increase that exceeds inflation, providing a real wage rise for the lowest paid, according to UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy.
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.
New Zealand Labour Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has deferred public consultation on a new test to determine who is a contractor and who is an employee, as he seeks to concentrate on cost-of-living issues in lead-up to an expected October election.
Newly-appointed FWC expert panel members Marian Baird and Mark Cully will serve on this year's crucial minimum wage case bench, as inflation substantially outpaces pay growth and the Reserve Bank continues to warn against the prospect of a wage-price spiral.
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.