Employer bodies are asking the FWC's minimum way panel to freeze minimum rates, limit any rises to CPI or to follow last year's precedent and postpone any increases.
The ACTU in its submission to this year's minimum wage review will seek a 3.5% increase across all award rates, maintaining that pay growth is crucial for the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Further evidence of the green shoots of a recovery has been provided with today's release of ABS data showing that private sector pay rates excluding bonuses increased by 0.7% seasonally adjusted and 0.5% in original terms in the December quarter.
Ahead of its appearance today before the Senate inquiry into the Omnibus IR Bill, the Centre for Future Work has warned that as Australia experiences an unprecedented period of low pay growth, the legislation's changes "will exert additional downward pressure".
The FWC has upheld the dismissal of a casual on-hire food and beverage attendant who did not accept any shifts while receiving JobKeeper payments that significantly increased his income, noting he lacked an incentive to work.
The RBA is warning that wage growth won't be "materially higher" for at least three years, while Centre for Future Work analysis suggests that the proposed Omnibus Bill provision permitting approval of BOOT-failing agreements will further hamper any recovery in pay rises.
The ALP caucus today resolved to oppose the Morrison Government's Omnibus IR Bill in its entirety, in a major shift from the more cooperative approach taken towards emergency legislation last year at the height of the pandemic.
The FWC has found employers are not obliged to keep workers on the payroll because of JobKeeper's availability, but has awarded a manager compensation for unfair dismissal that included 24 weeks of the job subsidy, because retaining him would have been "entirely consistent" with the scheme's objectives.
If the FWC incorporates loaded rates in hospitality and retail awards after a referral from IR Minister Christian Porter, it is likely to involve a range of such rates rather than a single one, the tribunal's president indicated in a statement today.
