Join us on 23 October for a country wide rally for a pay rise.
Reports have suggested that real wages are rising relative to the cost of living but these reports are wrong! Real wages are going backwards for more than four in five workers.
The wages crisis in Australia has become acute under the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government.
In June 2011 real disposable income was $12,066 and in June 2018 it was $11,987. Since the 2013 federal election, average weekly ordinary time earnings have barely risen, growing only 0.3 percent per year.
The costs of childcare, petrol, power, transport and housing – which form a large part of a working family’s budget – are growing up to eight times faster than wages. Working people on lower incomes are disproportionately affected by increases in these unavoidable costs, which are rising far more quickly than headline inflation figures.
National accounts and other ABS data shows that Company profits are growing five times as quickly as wages. Even that ratio does not reveal the true extent of the gap between a very small number of high earners and rest in our society because the measurement of total wages in the national accounts is inflated by the salaries and bonuses of high-income individuals.
Those calling for sustained pay rises to keep our economy on track include Reserve Bank Governor Phillip Lowe, the OECD and the IMF.
The labour share of national income – a good measure of how fairly the nation’s resources are being divided – is close to its lowest point in half a century. It fell 0.3 percent over the past year and more than two percent over the last two years.
It’s time that we stand up and demand a pay rise.
Join us at the rally on 23 October, starting at Victorian Trades Hall (Lygon St, Carlton) at 10:30am to demand a pay rise for working people.
Help promote the rally by downloading and sharing the leaflet with your colleagues, family and friends
