United Voice News
Fair Pay Commission makes history for all the wrong reasons
This is an extraordinarily bad decision from an organisation whose time has passed.
Today's decision from the soon-to-be-scrapped 'Fair Pay Commission' fails three tests. It is economically reckless, intellectually inconsistent and morally bankrupt.
"Economically this decision flies in the face of the Federal government's own submission to the Commission who argued they did not 'support a reduction in the real minimum wage,' said Louise Tarrant, National Secretary LHMU. "Clearly with inflation now at 2.5% this is a real wage cut for the lowest paid workers in Australia. This is why a number of reputable industry groups made submissions to the Fair Pay Commission for wage increases of between $5 and $8.
"In one bad decision the Fair Pay Commission has neutralised much of the benefit of the Federal government's stimulus package and guaranteed that demand will weaken across the economy. This is economically reckless"
"Nor is it possible to find any intellectual consistency in the Commission's decision making. They argue this pay cut will "save" low paid workers from unemployment but with this 2.5% cut in wages and costs of Food (5.7%) Housing (5.5%) and Health (5.3%) all increasing, there is no way demand will hold up. As demand collapses it is these very workers that are at risk of joining the unemployment queue.
"But this decision offends most deeply from a moral point of view. The more than 1.3 million Australians that rely on minimum award wages, that rely on this Commission for any wage increase at all, are among the most disadvantaged workers in Australia. They currently have little access or power to bargain for better wages or conditions. They are our young workers, women and migrant workers who will carry the greatest risk.
"This Commission has saved its worst until last. The sooner it becomes part of history, rather than creating history, the better," said Louise Tarrant, LHMU National Secretary.
