Australian employer group seeks fair approach to minimum wage review

Australia’s Fair Work Commission (FWC) has been urged to strike a fair balance between the equally important and inherently interconnected interests of Australia employees and their employers when reviewing the minimum wage in the country.

The call was made by the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), a national employer association, which recently submitted its response to the FWC on the Annual Wage Review.

Highlighting the challenging economic environment in which the commission must make its decision on minimum wage rates, Innes Willox, Chief Executive of Ai Group, said, “The panel must strike such a balance in the context of historically high inflationary pressures which are impacting both employers and employees. Other considerations include our slowing ‘multi-speed’ Australian economy, a weak global economic outlook and anaemic or indeed declining profitability in major industries.”

READ: Australia proposes improved parental leave framework for working families

Willox further stated that Ai Group recognises the pressures facing low-paid employees in lower-income households, and that the circumstances of employers struggling with cost pressures must also be considered. He emphasised that a simplistic adherence to the notion that wages must follow or exceed current inflation levels cannot be accepted, and that a more nuanced, responsible, and moderate approach is required in the interests of all stakeholders.