Wage growth in private sector federal agreements approved by the FWC in the March quarter dropped to the lowest level since 1991, according to the Department of Employment.
There are "promising" early results from a 12-month pilot program that is seeking to speed-up the appeals process in the FWC and reduce parties' costs, according to the tribunal's president, Justice Iain Ross.
The chief executive of the $84 billion AustralianSuper fund has urged unions to ensure that they make industry super funds the default option in enterprise agreements.
Almost half of federally registered enterprise agreements contain general commitments to improve productivity and a high proportion identify specific productivity measures, but their effectiveness is difficult to measure, according to a new FWC report.
Private sector agreements approved in the December quarter provided average pay rises of 3.6% a year, slightly up on the 3.5% annual increase recorded in the September quarter, according to Department of Employment data released today.
