Growth in private sector rates of pay is continuing to ease, falling from 3.6% a year in trend terms to 3.3%, while public sector growth has also dropped, according to the ABS.
The FAAA says an "in-principle" agreement with Qantas to pay on-hire cabin crew the same as their directly engaged colleagues will be "life changing", but while the Flying Kangaroo has committed to backpaying the difference to November last year it is apparently unable to indicate when it might hit workers' pockets.
After the UFU refused to comply with a FWC order to hand over a trust deed for an income protection scheme, the Federal Court has also ordered the union to produce the document.
A Senate inquiry is calling for guidance on what will qualify as a "reasonable excuse" for failing to comply with a Bill requiring employers with 500 or more workers to set new publicly-tracked gender equality targets that could determine eligibility for government contracts, while the Greens want to lower the threshold to 100 or more employees.
The FWO has further tightened the screws on franchisors after the Federal Court agreed that it fell to Bakers Delight to disprove that it is liable for half of a liquidated franchisee's alleged underpayments of more than $1.2 million.
The NTEU is calling for the FWO's "anti-wage theft model" to be rolled out nationally, after Sydney University entered an enforceable undertaking to make up more than $23 million in underpayments to more than 14,000 workers and Melbourne University did the same, for denying more than 25,000 workers a total of $72 million.
Private sector bargained pay rises have fallen below 4%, while the public sector has recorded the slowest growth in 18 months, according to new DEWR data.
A RBA research paper co-authored by board member and former FWC head Iain Ross says wage rises have peaked across all pay-setting methods, but real unit labour costs are continuing to outpace WPI growth and contribute to elevated underlying inflation, largely driven by compulsory super increases.
The Federal Court has approved a $19.25 million settlement to an underpayments class action targeting Justin Hemmes' Merivale, boosted from an earlier agreed sum of $18 million.
A FWC expert panel has decided to phase in work value pay rises for aged care nurses over three tranches from March next year to August 2026, rejecting a Federal Government call to spread it over four instalments between next July and October 2027, while its decision on classification structures has disappointed the ANMF.