A $26 a week pay rise and income tax cuts that begin today will provide relief for working families faced with rising living costs.
More than 1.4 million workers will receive an extra $26 a week in their pay packets from today, ending a wage freeze of almost two years under the Howard Government’s Fair Pay Commission.
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said the pay rise, which will lift the minimum wage to $569.90 a week, or $15 an hour, was a dividend of both the Federal Government’s successful handling of the Global Financial Crisis and its Fair Work laws.
"Today’s pay rise for the low-paid highlights the risk for Australian workers of a return to WorkChoices under Tony Abbott," Mr Lawrence said.
"Under the so-called Fair Pay Commission, real award wages actually fell for more than a million workers. Last year’s wage freeze was the last gasp of WorkChoices. It is an injustice that has been partly corrected by Fair Work Australia’s Minimum Wage Panel."
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