Opposition leader Anthony Albanese resisted promising to raise Australia’s average wages if he came to power in the next election.
One of the key pillars of the center-left Labor Party’s attack on the performance of the current administration is the slowdown in wage growth in recent years.
“Our purpose is to raise real wages and we have a practical plan to do so,” he said in a second television debate on May 8.
“By making safe work the purpose of fair labor law and dealing with the same work and the same wages, we properly define casualization so that people who do the same work get the same wages, and people in the economy Allows you to deal with the gig economy. It is well regulated under the minimum wages paid and addresses the gender pay gap by increasing transparency. “
The next day, when more pressure was put on the issue, Labor leaders “defeated” a new productivity program to drive wage growth through a planned Jobs Summit between companies and trade unions. “I am very confident that we can achieve positive results,” he said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison jumped into admission.
“He’s been talking about how to raise wages for the last three years, but when Push rushed in, he had to answer the question,’Can I raise wages?’ Well, he can’t, “he told reporters.
“There is no magic wand to raise wages. There is no magic pen to do that. Wages do not rise automatically in this Labor election vote, which Albanese pointed out last night. “
Former Queensland Prime Minister and now federal senator candidate Campbell Newman said the Labor Party’s goals are worth pursuing, but require major reforms to Australia’s workplace law.
“One of the biggest problems I see in the way he suggests to deal with is the union movement that has spent the last decade resuming the story of class struggle,” said the Liberal Democratic Party candidate. Earlier told the Epoch Times.
“It’s a big jump to expect them to sit down and allow companies to increase productivity. We need to make real changes to labor relations, award complexity, and how penalty rates are applied.” He said.
Living expenses, including inflation and rising interest rates, are a major concern among Australian voters, according to Kosmos Samaras, director of the Redbridge Group, which votes for elections.
Heston Russell, a former soldier and current senator candidate for the Australian Value Party, said focusing on raising wages would only lower prices for small businesses. Instead, he said, the government needs to “raise current wages further.”
“Looking at our resources, we cannot repeat an economy of much larger, older, and larger economies of scale, which we can afford,” he told The Epoch Times.
The party’s suggestion is to try to reduce the cost of the raw materials that make up the commodities consumed by Australians, including housing.
“When exporting goods from Australia, for the sake of discussion, we need to save 4% of these goods at the cost of the local market. Then these companies are exporting their costs abroad to the other 95 You can pass it on to percent, “he added.
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Daniel Y. Teng is based in Sydney. He focuses on national politics, including federal politics, COVID-19 response, and relations between Australia and China. Do you have a hint? Contact him at [email protected]