Inflation rates are on the rise, and so are wages
The median wage for Australian workers covered by enterprise agreements surged by $54 per week in the year to September 2024, according to newly released government data.
This growth underscores the significant role of enterprise bargaining in driving wage increases, particularly in the private sector.
The latest analysis shows that private sector wage growth outpaced the public sector, rising by 3.9% compared to 3.5%. This is slightly above the figures reported in the September Wage Price Index update, which recorded a 3.7% increase in private sector pay and a 3.5% rise for public sector workers over the same period.
With the median weekly wage sitting at $1,396, the year-on-year increase translates to an annual pay bump of approximately $2,808 for private sector workers and $2,496 for public sector employees.
This increase is slightly higher than inflation increases, as the monthly CPI indicator rose 2.3% in the 12 months to November, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This rise indicates that, on average, prices for goods and services increased by 2.3% over the 12-month period; with wages increasing in tandem, consumers are less at risk of their purchasing power decreasing.
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt credited the wage increases to the Albanese government’s proactive measures to stimulate wage growth, including reforms to enterprise bargaining, minimum wage adjustments, and targeted pay rises for critical sectors such as aged care and early education.
“Labor has worked hard to get wages moving again,” Watt said. “Every one of these changes was opposed by Peter Dutton and the Coalition, just like they opposed all of Labor’s cost-of-living relief.”
Despite the positive data, business leaders remain critical of Labor’s industrial relations reforms. The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has voiced strong opposition to multi-employer bargaining, with CEO Bran Black arguing the approach stifles productivity and innovation.
“Changes like multi-employer bargaining have taken our workplace laws back to the 1970s and threaten our ability to invest and innovate,” Black said. “We need to seriously examine how recent industrial relations changes are thwarting productivity growth and holding us back.”
