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 Home News General
Unions to push for pay rise for 1.6 million workers08 November 2004Unions will argue for a $26.60 a week pay rise for award workers in the 2005 national wage case. The claim covers 1.6 million workers including thousands working in aged care and residential disability services. If successful the claim will raise the adult minimum wage to $13 an hour. The ACTU secretary Greg Combet said the pay rise was needed due to the alarming growth in the number of "working poor" in Australia. "Most award workers are women in part-time and casual jobs who often serve the needs of others in the hospitality, retail, health childcare and community sectors," he said. "They deserve a pay rise." HSU national secretary Craig Thomson said a decreasing number of HSU members were covered by the wage case due to the spread of enterprise bargaining. But that did not reduce the importance of the case in providing a pay rise to the workers who needed it the most. "This annual wage case is the only chance 1.6 million workers covered by awards get to ask for a pay rise through unions," he said. "It is vital that the claim is accepted by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission which hears the wage case. "The average pay rise for Australia's top 100 chief executives last year was 47 per cent - more than 10 times the average pay rise of 4.5 that award workers would receive if the claim is successful." |
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© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU) |
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