wages – Openforum https://www.openforum.com.au Open Forum offers an independent platform for Australian debate Wed, 27 Mar 2024 21:57:31 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 Decoupling the minimum wage and inflation https://www.openforum.com.au/decoupling-the-minimum-wage-and-inflation/ Thu, 19 May 2022 21:40:14 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=37435 A 5% increase in the minimum wage has emerged as a point of difference in the election campaign, but there may be no need to link the minimum wage to inflation.

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Are fat cat CEOs worth their paychecks? https://www.openforum.com.au/are-fat-cat-ceos-worth-their-paychecks/ Fri, 27 Sep 2019 21:18:12 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=23638 CEOs of major companies are paid vast sums, not least to ruthlessly cut the jobs and wages of the people actually doing the work. Are they worth the millions they take for themselves?

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Workers are getting shortchanged by employers https://www.openforum.com.au/workers-are-getting-shortchanged-by-employers/ Fri, 02 Aug 2019 22:40:17 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=22563 The theft of wages and benefits from low paid and vulnerable workers is on the rise and companies and bosses should be called out and punished accordingly.

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Working hard to make work fairer https://www.openforum.com.au/working-hard-to-make-work-fairer/ Mon, 03 Jun 2019 22:15:38 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=21477 A proactive model helps the Fair Work Ombudsman track down unscrupulous employers who exploit or underpay their workers.

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Low paid workers get a small pay rise https://www.openforum.com.au/low-paid-workers-get-a-small-pay-rise/ Sat, 01 Jun 2019 22:09:51 +0000 https://www.openforum.com.au/?p=21432 Waiting for “market forces” to reverse recent record weakness in wage growth hasn’t worked. Nothing does more to create sustainable economic momentum than strong, sustained increases in the minimum wage. The Fair Work Commission is helping, but it could have been more ambitious.

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The false hope offered by talk of a living wage https://www.openforum.com.au/the-false-hope-offered-by-talk-of-a-living-wage/ Sat, 27 Apr 2019 00:43:00 +0000 http://www.openforum.com.au/?p=20237 Although it sounds attractive in theory, a higher minimum or “living wage” would give minimal assistance to some people on low incomes, while advantaging others not generally considered in need of support.

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Australia short changes migrant workers https://www.openforum.com.au/australia-short-changes-migrant-workers/ Tue, 26 Mar 2019 21:27:52 +0000 http://www.openforum.com.au/?p=20094 Australia’s Fairwork Commission has examined more than a dozen cases of wage theft this year, involving hundreds of migrant workers and millions of dollars in underpayments.

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Could “shadow equity” help workers escape the low wage trap? https://www.openforum.com.au/could-shadow-equity-help-workers-escape-the-low-wage-trap/ Wed, 20 Mar 2019 19:41:42 +0000 http://www.openforum.com.au/?p=20026 Paying workers in a similar way to executives might start to reverse the widening gulf in renumeration between executives and employees.

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