Pay rise for low paid workers
The federal government will provide an additional $1 billion as part of its contribution to the historic pay rise awarded to Australia’s social and community sector (SACS) workers in February of this year. From 1 December 2012, 150,000 of Australia’s lowest paid workers will benefit.
The federal government will provide an additional $1 billion as part of its contribution to the historic pay rise awarded to Australia’s social and community sector (SACS) workers in February of this year.
From 1 December 2012, 150,000 of Australia’s lowest paid workers will benefit from substantial pay rises of between 23% and 45% as a result of Fair Work Australia’s decision to lift the wages of some of Australia’s lowest paid workers. About120,000 of these workers are women.
Speaking at the NSW Labor Conference in Sydney yesterday (Sunday, 15 July 2012), Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the government was committed to meeting its share of the costs associated with this historic decision.
The federal government now expects state and territory governments to meet their obligations and commit their share of funds.
Employees in Australia’s social and community sectors work in some of the most challenging of jobs such as counselling families in crisis, running homeless shelters, working with aged people or those with disabilities and with victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
These employees make a real difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable community members and they deserve to be properly rewarded for their efforts, the federal government says.
State and federal governments are basically responsible for funding the pay increases as many of the workers are employed by organisations – such as Mission Australia, UnitingCare and the St Vincent De Paul Society – that are heavily reliant on government money to fund their operations. Other workers are employed directly by state governments.
Up-to-date information on the government’s commitment to pay its share of the Fair Work Australia decision is available at www.fahcsia.gov.au/node/10776
