Anthony Albanese’s government has hinted that it could back a minimum wage increase in line with inflation.
Employment Minister Tony Burke was quizzed on what the government would recommend in its submission to the Fair Work Commission ahead of its minimum wage decision.
Burke assured those Australians on minimum wage the Labor government’s “values haven’t changed”, as inflation continues to soar.
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While inflation currently sits at 7.4 per cent, a seven per cent pay rise to the national minimum wage would give workers an additional $1.40 an hour, taking the hourly minimum wage up to $22.87.
Burke said minimum wage earners have “the least room to move” as inflation continues to rise.
“Last year, we put forward the principle that the focus needed to be on the people on the lowest incomes because they had the least savings, they had the least room to move,” he told ABC RN Breakfast on Wednesday.
“You’d never photocopy a submission one year to the next, and it’s never identical in every way. But as I’ve said, our values haven’t changed.“
This would be welcome news for the 2.8 million Australians employed on the minimum wage.
Full-time employees on minimum wage would receive an increase of $56 per week.
With submissions to the Fair Work Commission on next financial year’s minimum wage rise due to close, unions continue to call for an increase above seven per cent.
The commission raised the minimum wage by 5.2 per cent for the current financial year in its most recent decision.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the union would finalise its submission in due course.
“When making our claim, the union movement will carefully consider all the pressures on the lowest-paid workers who are suffering through the biggest cost-of-living crisis in memory,” she said.
Albanese said before the last election he “absolutely” backed a rise in the minimum wage to support the cost of living.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has called for workers to receive a sustainable pay rise, but won’t say whether the government backs an inflation-matching minimum wage increase.
“For low-income workers, we want to make sure that they are getting sustainable and affordable pay rises,” she told ABC Radio on Monday.
“Last year (we) didn’t put a pay figure on (the last submission). I think we made the argument that, particularly for low-paid workers, we wouldn’t want to see them go backwards, but we left it to the commission.”
– With AAP