Union members like you called on decision-makers to pass this Bill to make it simpler and fairer for working people to bargain for better workplace conditions. And on 2 December, we won. For too long, workers have been restricted by an overly complex bargaining system, making it harder to join together and improve pay and conditions. We need better workplace laws to even the balance for workers. Passing this Bill is a step in the right direction. The Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill will: Get wages moving again by modernising our bargaining laws, making it simpler and fairer to negotiate for better pay and conditions and banning job ads below the minimum wage Address the gender pay gap by banning pay secrecy clauses so workers can openly talk about their pay, requiring the Fair Work Commission to consider gender when making pay decisions, delivering better flexibility for workers, and improving protections on sexual harassment Create secure jobs by restricting the use of rolling fixed term contracts as well as requiring the Fair Work Commission to consider job security when making decisions Well done to all ASU members who campaigned and made this happen. Together, we can make our workplaces & society fairer.
New legislation - the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill - has been introduced into Parliament. The aim of this legislation is to modernise the bargaining system in Australia and help workers get the pay increases they deserve. The current national collective bargaining system has not been delivering workers pay increases in real terms over the last ten years. Sign the petition here to ask your Senator to support the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill and get wages in Australia moving again. The Albanese government is aiming to have the bill passed by the end of 2022, but this will rely on the actions of Senate crossbenchers. The Australian union movement has been campaigning for government to address the cost of living crisis, because prices in Australia continue to rise while wages are stagnant. Union members have been clear that there needs to be legal change to allow workers to secure pay increases. ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said: We must get wages moving in this country. People are working hard, but they are now seeing their wages go dramatically backwards after a decade of seeing them go nowhere. This cannot continue. Australians deserve to see the benefits of their hard work, especially at a time when CEO pay packets have increased 41 per cent and profits for big business by 25 per cent.
Amid the cost of living crisis, the Australian union movement has a positive plan to improve the national workplace laws in Australia. Wages are not keeping pace with cost of living, and it's because our laws are stopping workers - especially in the private sector - from achieving good workplace agreements. The current system of enterprise bargaining in Australia is more than 30 years old. Only 14% of workers are now covered by an enterprise agreement - and this is trending downwards. At a national level Australian unions are campaigning for new laws that will allow more workers to be part of a collective agreement that protects and improves their pay and conditions. We have an opportunity now with a new federal government and an increased focus on wages failing to meet cost of living pressure to fix this crisis by changing our work laws. It starts with reviewing our bargaining system - if so many workers are not covered by an enterprise agreement, how can with improve wages to keep up with the cost of living increases? As the Australian Council of Trade Unions says: Our jobs and workplaces have changed over the past 30 years and our bargaining system needs to as well. This is not a new problem and it’s not just caused by the pandemic or overseas conflict. Workers’ wages have been frozen or declining for the last decade. Next week, unions will be attending the new Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit. We’ll be taking our positive plan, with common sense proposals to fix collective bargaining, and make it meet the needs of workers, as well as employers. Watch ACTU Secretary Sally McManus talk about it here and here. You can do something today to be part of the solution to fix the wages crisis in Australia - ask your friends, your family and your workmates to become a union member. We know that union members win better outcomes and pay at work than non-union workers and union members drive positive outcomes in our community. Being a union member is your first step on a path to better pay and conditions at work.
The Fair Work Commission has decided to increase wages for a quarter of Australian workers - 5.2 per cent for those on the minimum wage and 4.6 per cent or $40 per week for those reliant on award wages, whichever is higher. This increase applies to workers in the private sector and federal jurisdiction. Public sector workers wages are largely governed by state government wages policy, which at the moment is only 2.5%. Union members are campaign to change the state government wage policy and today's announcement from the FWC shows that 2.5% in today's economy is not good enough. You can read more about the campaign here. The FWC's decision puts an extra $40 a week in the pocket of a fulltime worker on the minimum wage and low-paid award workers. While this is a good outcome for these workers. There are still 8.5 million workers who don’t know where their next wage rise is coming from. The union movement fought hard for this increase, standing up for the quarter of Australian workers who rely on this process for a pay rise. If it were not for unions, with employers pushing for big real wage cuts, Australian working people and their families would see no relief from cost of living pressures. Lack of wage growth is a critical issue for our economy and we need concerted action to address it. Our current system means that despite low unemployment, high productivity and record profits, labour’s share of GDP is at a record low and Australian workers have faced a decade of record low wage growth capped by ongoing real wage cuts. Australia needs a plan to ensure that over time, wages grow for working people, and a system which will deliver on that plan. The current system is not delivering for working people. This Annual Wage Review is one tool we have to generate wage growth, but it only affects one in four workers – we need wage growth across the economy. The current system is failing. It is unable to deliver wage increases despite low unemployment, high productivity and high profits. Working people are feeling the serious consequences of nearly 10 years of inaction by the previous federal Government. Our country needs to take a fresh look at this problem and address it. It is not acceptable that working Australians and their families continue to go backwards while big business does so well. We cannot be satisfied with a wage setting process that leaves minimum wage workers living in poverty and delivers real wage cuts for the average worker.
It’s time to demand a pay rise. You and your colleagues standing together are powerful. Each year the Fair Work Commission reviews the minimum wage, and the wages contained in awards, which impact millions of Australian workers. Today, Australian Services Union members are making a submission to the National Wage Case for a 5% wage increase. Sign up to stay up to date with our National Wage Case campaign The cost of paying the bills keeps going up but our wages aren’t keeping up. We need a real pay increase to keep up and give workers peace of mind. Your union is your voice for a pay rise at work, make sure you have a say in your wage increase. If the Government really want to address the cost of living crisis, it starts with making sure wages aren’t going backwards. That’s why ASU members working in professional administration, aged care, disabilities, call centres and more are joining together to call for a 5% pay rise. Our jobs should give us the certainty that our wages will keep up with the cost of living and allow us to plan for the future. A wage increase can only come about from union members working together. Make sure you have a say in your wage increase. Join our campaign and tell us what a 5% pay increase would mean for you.
