Two weeks after locking workers out of its Sydney depot, global logistics giant FedEx has become the last of the country's major transport companies to reach agreement on a new deal with the TWU.
The TWU's in-principle three-year agreement with Australia Post subsidiary StarTrack will deliver annual wage rises that match CPI increases in the second and third years of the deal if inflation exceeds 3%.
The RBA says it new enterprise deal complies with the public sector pay cap in the Federal Government's workplace bargaining policy, despite delivering a guaranteed pay rise of 2.9% in the first year and what is likely to be about 4% in the second year.
Wage rises in private sector enterprise agreements remain marooned at 2.6%, while public sector increases have dropped back to recent trends, according to new Attorney-General's Department data that appears to confirm that the pandemic has accelerated the long-running decline in bargaining.
The CPSU has stepped up its criticism of the Morrison Government's public sector wages policy, saying it demands that workers sign up to "unknown" pay rises beyond the first year of new enterprise deals.
The RBA's board has rejected suggestions that recent wage pressures flowing from the unexpectedly rapid economic recovery, sub-5% unemployment and closed borders is leading to more generalised pay rises in the short term, while the bank's intelligence-gathering indicates employers are not planning catch-up increases for workers subjected to wage freezes.
The FWC has signed off on a new deal for almost 50,000 Commonwealth Bank employees after the employer committed to delivering on the pre-vote impression that everyone would receive a pay rise.
Bargained wage rises in the private sector show little sign of pushing towards the "materially higher" benchmark set by the RBA, growing at 2.6% for the second quarter in a row, while public sector bargaining collapsed.
Qube Logistics must backpay two 3% increases held to be payable until it re-negotiated a rail deal, after a full Federal Court today upheld a finding that re-negotiation takes place when an agreement comes into force rather than when bargaining begins.
The AEU's Victorian branch has unveiled a push for annual pay rises of 7% over three years for government school teachers, plus reduced face-to-face teaching hours and smaller class sizes.
