ACOSS has welcomed the Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase the national minimum wage by 3.5% and is calling for further action to lift living standards.
“This decision will help ease the pressure on low-paid workers who are struggling to cover their basic costs,” said ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie.
“For too long, wages have failed to keep pace with the cost of essentials like housing, energy, food and healthcare, leaving low-income workers and people who receive income support struggling to keep up - and this decision will help.
“However, today’s news will not reverse the decade-long stagnation of living standards that people doing it tough have endured.
“We now need further action to boost the incomes of those with the least, starting with urgently raising the rate of JobSeeker and related payments to livable levels.
ACOSS is also calling on the government to guarantee funding for community sector organisations to afford the increased wage bill.
This goes to the heart of both the government's commitments on essential services and gender equality, given the overwhelming majority of the sector's labour force is women working at the frontline of Australia's disadvantage and hardship.
“Community service organisations and their workers provide critical help to the growing number of people experiencing financial distress,” Dr Goldie said.
“Governments must fairly fund community organisations so they can afford to pay the new rates to their paid workers while also maintaining service quality. To do otherwise would be to undermine an already over worked and chronically under funded national sector.”
Contact details:
Lauren Ferri: 0422 581 506