The ACTU has this morning lodged an urgent case in the FWC seeking a minimum 10c-per-kilometre increase to vehicle allowances in modern awards, to address the Iran War-related spike in fuel costs.
A full Federal Court has confirmed that class actions cannot start until members are correctly identified but can "transmogrify", after Adero Law conceded the definition contained in a store managers' claim against The Reject Shop left the group "empty".
The former executive manager of an "effectively insolvent" disability services provider sacked while on workers compensation has been awarded $20,000, after the FWC found an administrator reached an "uninformed view" her job could be performed by subordinates.
The Australia Institute is urging the FWC to increase award and minimum wages by 7.5% to 11.1%, to "undo the damage" to real wages inflicted since the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compensate for the forthcoming cost of living increases caused by the Middle East conflict.
Employers have described today's FWC decision to abolish junior rates for 18 to 20-year-olds as "disappointing" and a "financial blow", as the tribunal conceded the likelihood of a negative effect on employment of workers as businesses adjust to increased labour costs.
FWC-ordered minimum wage increases play a "critical role" in "reducing entrenched, intersectional wage inequality" for Aboriginal workers, who are more likely to be award-reliant, the Centre for Indigenous People and Work says in what is likely the first annual wage review submission to focus solely on First Nations workers.
The Albanese Government has again kept its election promise to urge the FWC's Annual Wage Review bench to order real wage increases for award-reliant and minimum wage workers that keep pace with the cost of living.
Peak employer body ACCI will seek a 3.5% rise in the Annual Wage Review 2026 after chief executive Andrew McKellar described the ACTU's 5% claim as "self-defeating".
The ACTU is seeking a 5% rise in award rates and the federal minimum wage to keep pace with cost-of-living pressures "that have gotten a lot tougher" with the fuel price rises from the Middle East war and interest rate hikes.
