Overview
- The ACTU will ask the Fair Work Commission for a 6% increase for about three million award and minimum‑wage workers after lifting its claim from 5%.
- Union secretary Sally McManus says the rise would shield low‑paid staff from price pressures linked to the Iran conflict and a renewed oil shock.
- Treasury budget papers warn inflation could reach around 5% in the near term and, in a severe oil scenario, as high as 7%, with real wages not recovering until June 2027.
- A 6% decision would lift the hourly minimum to about $26.45 and add roughly $57 a week for a full‑time worker in sectors like retail, aged care, child care, cleaning and hospitality.
- Economists and business groups argue a rise above inflation could feed broader pay claims and prices, and the commission’s ruling due in June will test those risks.