Workers have the right to a just wage, hearing told

Sydney
24 March 2002

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Workers have the right to a just wage, hearing told

By Chris Hook

Every worker has the right to earn a just wage, “a level of remuneration that allows an employee to support him or herself and their family in dignity”, says the Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations.

Payment of a just wage is an employer’s responsibility, it said; enforcing that principle is the responsibility of the state.

The Catholic body was making a submission to the living wage case being heard by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, which is considering a request by the ACTU for a $25 per week increase for Australia’s 1.4 million workers on award wages.

Rather than endorsing a specific amount, the Catholic submission addresses “the social and moral principles that need to be considered by the Full Bench in reaching its decision”. It said that “flat dollar” rather than percentage increases gave “the greatest assistance to the low paid”.

The Federal Government and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have rejected the ACTU submission.

Employment Minister Tony Abbott said the bid for a $25 per week increase could lead to increased unemployment. He advocated a $10 per week rise.

Acting chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lyndon Rowe, labelled the claim “excessive”, warning such a rise would cost jobs and increase inflation.

The Commission says the Industrial Relations Commission is obliged to consider issues such as levels of productivity and inflation, but economic matters should not override its primary concern “when adjusting the safety net”.

The Commission for Employent Relations is both advocate and employer; it represents Catholic Church agencies, hospitals, schools and other Catholic organisations employing around 176,000 people. The wage decision is expected to be handed down early in April.