Sky News Afternoon Agenda with Danica De Giorgio
Topics: Fair Work Commission Wage Review
2 June 2023
E&OE.
Danica De Giorgio
Joining me now live is the Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Michaelia Cash. Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. Is it a good day for minimum wage workers who are trying to make ends meet?
Senator Cash
Well, Danica, the decision by the Fair Work Commission today is just a stark reminder to all Australians, but in particular thosewho are on the minimum wage, that real wages under the Albanese Government are going backwards. This is yet another broken promise by Mr. Albanese. He has said time and time again before the election, that under his government, he would ensure that real wages started moving – in other words, they’d go forward. Yet in estimates this week, I asked Tony Burke’s own department: “have real wages gone forwards or backwards under the Albanese government”. Danica, their answer was this: “real wages have gone backwards by 3.3% under the Albanese Government”. So, I have to say today, the wage increase, it’s just a real reminder that real wages are going backwards under the Albanese government.
Danica De Giorgio
There’s about 184,000 people or so who are under a certain classification, so it’s a technical classification here, that will actually get a pay rise of about 8.6%
Senator Cash
Yeah, it’s a technical classification. Basically, what’s happened there is, the Fair Work Commission has increased the minimum wage by 5.75%. So, for around the 2.5 million employees across Australia who were employed under award, so that’s around 20.5% of employed Australians, they get the 5.75%. They also did a slight baseline adjustment for around 0.7% of affected employees. It’s around, as you say, around 184,000, and because of the baseline adjustment, the flow on effect for them is around 8.6%; but that’s 0.7% of those affected. For the majority of those affected – the 2.5 million – the stark reality for them is 5.75% when the monthly inflation indicator, as at April, shows that inflation is now 6.8%. So yes, it’s just another reminder, today’s decision, that real wages, and Mr. Albanese and Mr. Burke are going backwards.
Danica De Giorgio
Tony Burke spoke a short time ago. He made some comments about you. This is what he said:
Tony Burke
“Details matter in this, because the details affect what goes into people’s bank accounts. I know in radio they have that thing where you have the six second delay between the audience hearing something and someone saying it in case someone says something really weird and that is just wrong. I think they have a dump button in radio. Someone from Senator Cash’s office ought to look at getting one of those buttons. To be putting out information that is just plain wrong, that affects the most vulnerable workers in Australia, it’s a bit stupid, and it’s deeply irresponsible.”
Danica De Giorgio
What’s your response to that? He says that you’ve got your facts wrong when it does come to today’s decision.
Senator Cash
Well, I completely disagree and perhaps Tony Burke, instead of attacking me should actually focus all of his energy on tackling inflation. I mean, Albanese and Tony Burke, they can no longer say that inflation is coming out of the Kremlin, because it is coming out of Canberra. So instead of focusing on me today, perhaps he needs to focus on his own government’s policies, and actually, instead of his own department admitting that real wages under Tony Burke and Anthony Albanese are going backwards, perhaps his focus should be on ensuring they put in place policies that see less inflationary impact, but also real wages going forward. But in terms of who Tony Burke was referring to, he is literally referring to the 184,000 people, the 0.7%, who had a technical baseline adjustment. The minimum wage for the award based employees, the 20.5% of employees, 2.5 million, that increased by the headline figure, 5.75%
Danica De Giorgio
But 8.6% that is above what was even called for. How is that not a good outcome to get wages moving?
Senator Cash
Oh, and it’s a good outcome for those people. That is a good outcome for 184,000 people. But ultimately, that was a baseline adjustment, and even the Fair Work Commission in its decision says that this was a technical aspect of the decision. For the majority of employees, it is 5.75% – it goes to $22.61, not the $23.23. So, for the 2.5 million or 20.5% of employees, it is actually 5.75%. So what that does show is that for the majority of those employees, their real wage is not keeping up with inflation. And as I said, Tony Burke can attack me all he likes, but perhaps his energy should be better focused on tackling inflation, and actually not breaking the promises that he and Mr. Albanese made to the Australian people before the election.
Danica De Giorgio
The RBA is of course meeting next week, are you worried that today’s pay rise will in fact add to those inflationary pressures? And there could even be another rate rise?
Senator Cash
Here, look, ultimately, this is obviously a decision for the independent Reserve Bank or the RBA. It’s really interesting, Danica, that since the decision was handed down this morning, a number of the market economists, they have already updated their own forecast and they are predicting a rate rise. Ultimately, a decision for the Reserve Bank, but it is interesting to see now where some of the market economists are actually going.
Danica De Giorgio
We’ve seen business groups, they’ve said that today’s decision by the wage umpire will make it harder to sustain employment at the strong level that it’s at. How do you think that businesses will manage this decision?
Senator Cash
Well, ultimately, this is why it is always a decision for the independent Fair Work Commission. They have a particular panel with particular expertise. They actually analyse all of the information across the economy, and that means they get a submission from government, they get submissions from unions, they get submissions from employer groups. They take into account all of the factors in play across the economy, and then they make their considered decision. In terms of their considered decision – yes, it was above what businesses had been looking for, but ultimately, that’s the reason it is a decision for the Fair Work Commission.
Danica De Giorgio
All right. Just finally, Tony Burke said that this is the day that Australians see a change of government in their bank accounts. Did the previous government get it wrong? What more could the previous governments have done to get wages moving?
Senator Cash
Well, I completely disagree with Tony Burke. What you did see under the last government was an improvement in real wages. Under Tony Burke – I mean, really, he is grasping at straws today – he is refusing to acknowledge the fact that for the majority of employees – 20.5%, the 2.5 million – it is a 5.75% increase. Yes, he is focusing on the 184,000, 0.7%, but ultimately the majority of employees, 5.75%, monthly inflation indicators to April inflation is at 6.8%. Tony Burke and Mr. Albanese have broken promise, after promise, after promise. Perhaps he needs to start focusing on the fact that interest rates under this government have gone up. Perhaps he needs to start focusing on the fact that energy prices under this government have gone up. Perhaps he needs to get out and talk to small businesses about the fact that they are barely coping at the moment with the increase in their costs. So I think Mr. Burke needs to put more energy into actually formulating good policy that has positive effects on the economy.
Danica De Giorgio
Michaelia Cash, we’ve run out of time, we have to leave it there. Thank you very much.
Recent Comments