Most disability, home care, social and community services workers will from October next year be covered by a "vastly different" award providing pay rises of up to 27%, following yesterday's decision by a FWC expert panel considering gender undervaluation in highly-feminised sectors.
The FWC's annual wage review expert panel has today granted a below-inflation 4.75% rise in all award rates, after "regrettably" concluding it would not be "practicable or responsible" to order a larger increase in the current "uncertain" economic conditions.
Extra time for Wood inquiry into CFMEU; Gender undervaluation boost now in October; Migrant Workers Centre launched in NSW; and FWC Bulletin final edition.
New ACTU pitch for vehicle allowances; Delayed CPI move for expense-related allowances; Further reporting extension for WFH inquiry; and Labour law conference seeking papers.
The Ai Group is asking the FWC's expert panel to restrict pay rises for minimum wage and award-reliant workers to an inflation-lagging 3.9%, branding the ACTU's revised claim for a 6% increase "reckless".
The ACTU has upped the pay rise it is seeking in the annual wage review from 5% to 6% in response to inflationary pressures flowing from the Middle East war.
Speakers at an IR conference have emphasised the importance of early, transparent consultations when introducing automation and AI-related change, but a lawyer says locking into a formal process too soon is risky.
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.
