Full-time workers in a rich country shouldn’t be living in poverty

By Dave Oliver

I HAVE been doing pay negotiations for 30 years and I’ve never been to a meeting where an employer told me the time was right for a pay rise.

There’s always a reason why they can’t spare the money just now. I’m pretty sure that’s how it will be with the union movement’s bid to get a pay rise of at least $30-a-week for 1.5 million low-paid workers who depend on a decent minimum wage.

Employers have opposed every bid we’ve ever made to lift minimum wages, in some years demanding no pay rise at all. If the Fair Work Commission had accepted the employers’ positions since 2000, the minimum wage would be about $120 less than it is today.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry wants this year’s minimum wage rise to be just $5.80 per week — less than a one per cent increase.

I’ll probably be accused of “class warfare” for daring to disagree with employer groups on this, but I’ll go ahead.

Unions are campaigning for a $30-per-week minimum wage increase because it puts money in the pockets of the workers who look after the elderly, clean our buildings and staff our shops.

Many of these people are trying to look after families on an income of $606 per week. For most of them, the annual minimum wage case is the only time they get a pay rise.

The minimum wage has fallen behind average wages and is barely keeping up with inflation. It is now 43% of the average wage — down from 49% in 2005. A family relying on a minimum wage earner is falling further behind the rest of society every year.

A $30-per-week increase for the 1.5 million lowest paid workers is a reasonable ask at a time when living costs are increasing. Australia’s economy is stronger than most countries and we have not seen rises in unemployment or drops in productivity as a result of previous wage rises.

During the 1990s, wage rises kept pace with productivity but, since 2000, productivity rises have jumped ahead of wage increases.

“A decent wage that allows you to live with a degree of dignity and security is not too much to ask.”

That means that workers are not getting fair reward for their role in growing the economy.

Nearly 40% of Australians are in some kind of insecure work — such as casual or contract labour. A quarter don’t get sick leave or annual leave.

Employers recently failed in a bid to reduce or scrap penalty rates in a number of key industries after the Fair Work Commission ruled they had not provided facts to back up their arguments.

When your hours and pay are irregular, a decent minimum wage becomes a more important safety net than ever.

Unions are campaigning for a decent minimum wage because we don’t want to see Australia develop a “working poor” like they have in the USA, where people can work a 50-hour week and still be unable to house and feedtheir families without help.

Despite the USA’s minimum wage being far lower than ours, and workers having far fewer rights, they still suffer from a higher rate of unemployment than Australia. People are suffering for no benefit to the broader economy.

Those who argue that a rise in the minimum wage will cost jobs forget that low-paid workers tend to spend most of their income quickly, putting it straight back into the economy and creating jobs.

Society couldn’t function without the low-wage workers who’d benefit from a minimum wage rise, and many businesses would be unable to make a profit.

A decent wage that allows you to live with a degree of dignity and security is not too much to ask.

We are one of the richest countries in the world. Full-time workers in this country should not be living in poverty.

Dave Oliver was ACTU Secretary from 2012 to 2017

First published on 28 March 2013.