Enterprise approvals hit decade high ahead of wage rise
Employees on new enterprise agreements have reached their highest quarterly levels in more than a decade.
Employment and Workplace Department figures have revealed agreements approved during the March quarter covered just under 365,000 employees.
Enterprise agreements now cover more than 2.14 million workers, about 480,000 more than two years ago.
During the first quarter of the year, 1022 enterprise agreements were signed off.
The figures also reveal full-time workers on awards have received an extra $5.30 a week since the Albanese government was sworn in, or $10,400 a year more before tax.
Ahead of a minimum wage rise of 3.75 per cent that kicks in on Monday, data also showed a $3.77 increase in the minimum wage since 2022.
Minimum-wage earners have received an extra $143 per week, or $7451 a year, under the rises to the minimum wages.
From Monday, the minimum wage will increase to $24.10 per hour, with 2.6 million workers to benefit from the rise.
Employment Minister Tony Burke said the rise in wages had resulted in more secure jobs for workers.
"We are seeing far more people now with job security, and the pay increases as a result of us being willing to change the law," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
"When we first started pushing for wage increases, there was some fairly hysterical commentary from our opponents, saying it would cause a wage price spiral.
"The reality is people with more modest incomes and people on low incomes are the people who are under the massive pressure whenever inflation goes up."
The increases to the minimum wage had not let spikes to inflation, Mr Burke said.
"Australia as a nation has to be mature enough that we're not blaming 11 per cent of the payroll and the Australian workforce for inflation," he said.
"At the same time that wages have got moving, inflation has been falling and moderating and the budget measures that were taken were deliberately designed to be able to provide sensible cost-of-living relief while moderating inflation."
