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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was sworn in last week,
said his government had submitted an application with the
independent wage-setting body that could help raise the pay of
the lowest-paid workers from A$20.33 ($14.77) an hour.
"Workers on the minimum wage deserve a pay rise," Albanese said
on Twitter. "Rising costs are putting real pressure on family
budgets. And these costs are harder to meet because of a decade
of deliberate decisions by the previous government to keep wages
low."
The Fair Work Commission will decide on the minimum wage in the
next few weeks, a ruling affecting more than 2 million workers,
though the government can make a recommendation on the size of
the award.
Employment Minister Tony Burke said the government did not want
the wages "of anyone go backwards but this is at its most acute
for low wage earners."
With inflation rising twice as fast as wages, real incomes are
in the red.
The new government is also tackling a spike in domestic
wholesale prices of electricity and gas as demand for energy
rises with colder weather.
During the election campaign, Albanese promised he would support
a 5.1% rise in wages, matching inflation.
Amid a sharp rise in living costs, data on Wednesday showed
Australia's gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the March
quarter, topping market forecasts, setting the scene for more
inflation-fighting interest rate increases by the Reserve Bank
of Australia (RBA).
Economists polled by Reuters said in a survey published on
Friday that the RBA would raise rates by 25 basis points at its
June policy meeting next week, with some predicting a 40 basis
point rise to 0.75%.
Markets are also priced in for an increase.
($1 = 1.3761 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose;Editing by Robert Birsel and Kim
Coghill)
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