The Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its annual wage review decision on 2 June, increasing minimum award pay rates by 4.75% from 1 July.
This decision applies to about 20 per cent of all employees in Australia who are on modern awards, or about 2.8 million low-paid workers.
This decision is of critical importance to IEU members who are covered by modern awards. The awards set minimum industry pay rates.
There is also a small cohort of about 100,000 working people who are not covered by an award or an enterprise agreement who are paid the minimum wage. The FWC increased this by 5.97% to $26.44 per hour (up from $24.95), or $1004.90 per week (up from $948), based on a full-time 38-hour week.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said: “This is a positive real wage increase, and it will provide some buffer against the worst impacts of the Trump war.”
Paid parental leave
This decision also benefits members who will access the federal government’s paid parental leave scheme, which is paid at the rate of the minimum wage.
As above, this means the federal government’s paid parental leave scheme will increase from $948.10 a week to $1004.90 a week. From 1 July, this scheme will also expand from 24 weeks to 26 weeks.
The federal government pays superannuation on top of this scheme.
Union agreements better than awards
Strong IEU membership ensures the vast majority of members are covered by union-negotiated agreements that provide higher salaries and better conditions.
Upcoming gains
IEU members will receive the following gains from 1 July:
- superannuation must be paid on pay day (not quarterly)
- 3% pay rise for support staff in Catholic systemic schools (excluding the Broken Bay diocese, where support staff will receive a 3% pay rise in October).
For more details, see the next edition of Newsmonth, out in July.
