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 Home Campaigns Minimum Wages Resources
Why Should Minimum Wages Increase?
Each year the ACTU and trade unions work hard to improve the living conditions of Australia’s lowest paid workers and the Minimum Wages Case is an important part of that strategy. The case is focused on low paid workers who do not have access to enterprise bargaining increases or over award payments. There are 1.6 million workers, including many part time and casuals, who rely on this case for their only pay rise each year. Only a minority of these workers are members of a union. What the union movement aims to achieve in the minimum wages case is to avoid the spread of 'working poor' that has occurred in other industrialised countries. It recognises Australia's tradition of fairness and is based upon the principle that Australian workers and their families are entitled to a decent standard of living. The ACTU and unions believe workers who cannot benefit from bargaining must not be left behind by the community as a whole. Decent minimum wages are essential to avoid a "low pay ghetto" in a two-tiered labour market. An Increase in Minimum Wages is a Brake on InequalityThere is increasing evidence that inequality in Australia has been on the rise since the Howard Government came to office. Researchers at the University of NSW have found that since the mid-1990s the top twenty per cent of income earners have had a pay increase of $111 a week or 14%. The bottom twenty per cent have had a pay increase of $13 per week or 7.8%. Over half of the economy-wide increase in wealth generated during the Howard Government has been of no benefit to the bottom four-fifths of the workforce. Even the Treasury head Ken Henry has admitted inequality has been increasing since the mid-1990s. The ACTU and unions consider this to be an attack on Australia's 'fair go' ethic. The size of the cake is important but equally so is the way it is divided up. Since 1996, the annual case ran by unions and the ACTU has increased the Federal Minimum Wage by $99 a week or $5,148 per annum in dollar terms. This is more than 8% in real terms. During this period the Howard Government has opposed every increase in minimum wages sought by the ACTU and unions, instead offering between $8 and $12 a week. If the Howard Government had had its way, workers on the Minimum Wage would be $35 a week or $1,820 a year worse off than they are now. Low paid workers work hard and the country can afford to pay more. Minimum wages aren't welfare, they aren't like the dole. Low paid workers are concentrated in gruelling, difficult and important jobs like child care, aged care, cleaning, security, hospitality and retail. These workers look after our children and our elderly. They keep us healthy and safe and make our lives more comfortable and interesting. They work hard and without them our lives would be poorer. We Can Afford ItOur economy can sustain a decent rise in minimum wages. It has grown by about 4 per cent for 10 years. This is an extra $200 billion in real terms. Employment has grown at 2.2 per cent per year creating 1.8 million jobs and average earnings have increased by 4.2 per cent. Profits have grown at an average 13.5 per cent for a decade. The economy has survived the Asian meltdown, the Japanese recession and September 11. Despite the widely recognised strength of the Australian economy the Federal Government and employer groups rant about the dire economic consequences of each and every minimum wages claim. Each year the ACTU provides during the case comprehensive evidence on the needs of low paid workers and the inadequacy of current rates of pay. It does so by presenting research prepared by academics and research institutions and by presenting evidence from low paid workers themselves about life on award wages. This is complemented by submissions by community groups such as ACOSS and the Brotherhood of St Laurence. The ACTU argues that it is fair that industrially weak and low-paid workers share in our national prosperity at this time. Inflation remains low, productivity growth has been high for several years and the prospects are good for economic growth to continue. Conditions have rarely been better for delivering decent pay rises for low paid workers. Contact Details Health Services Union of Australia Ph: 03 93413330 Fax: 03 93413329 hsu@hsu.net.au http://www.hsu.net.au |
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© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU) |
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