Overview
- The ACTU formally opened a campaign to raise the statutory minimum to five weeks for full-time workers and to six weeks for shift workers, which would be the first rise since the 1970s.
- Unions will put their proposal to a House of Representatives inquiry into the National Employment Standards, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers said such a change was not under consideration by the government.
- The case cites research showing workers average about 4.5 weeks of unpaid overtime a year, with those aged 18–24 averaging 6.4 weeks, as evidence of mounting stress and burnout.
- The ACTU estimates the move would lift employment costs by roughly 2%, arguing offsets from lower turnover and fewer stress-related absences, with economist Jeff Borland calling the cost manageable.
- Employer groups including the AI Group and the Business Council oppose a mandate on productivity grounds and prefer workplace-level decisions, as the CPSU prepares related claims for public-service bargaining that explore more leave and four-day-week trials.