Tasmanian unions today welcomed the decision by Fair Work Australia to lift the minimum wage by $26 a week.
The decision affects approximately 50 000 Tasmanian award-dependent workers and helps to redress the wage freeze of almost two years under the Howard Government’s unfair wage-setting tribunal.
The $26 a week minimum wage rise will help Tasmanian workers and their families catch up with cost of living increases. The Howard Government’s so called Fair Pay Commission saw wage freezes and decisions which did not keep the minimum wage up with inflation.
Award-dependent workers in Tasmania are predominately part-time, non-managerial and female. They are mostly concentrated in retail trade, health and community services and accommodation, cafes and restaurants. This decision will have an impact on the wages of some of our lowest paid workers including cleaners, retail and hospitality staff, child care workers and farm labourers.
The ACTU successfully argued that the recovery of the Australian economy made a strong case for a decent rise to minimum wages.
Unions Tasmania President Anne Urquhart said the new wage-setting body within Fair Work Australia had clearly accepted the ACTU’s case for a decent and reasonable wage rise.
Unions Tasmania President Anne Urquhart said:
“Today we see a degree of fairness restored for around 50 000 award-dependent workers in Tasmania with a decent rise to minimum wages that they need to make ends meet.”
“Today’s decision is a very good outcome for working Tasmanians and will restore some equity and fairness into our economy.”
“This decision goes some of the way towards restoring the real value of wages for the most low-paid and vulnerable Tasmanian workers.”
“Last year’s decision, which has been described as a last gasp of WorkChoices, condemned award and minimum wage reliant workers to a wage freeze and sent the living standards of the lowest paid Tasmanian workers backwards.”
“It’s interesting to note that the written decision by Fair Work Australia comments on the massive increase in company profits at the expense of wages under the Howard Government and the fact that productivity of employees has increased by up to 20%,” said Mrs Urquhart.
Unions Tasmania
