The March CPI figures showing that inflation rose 5.1% over the past 12 months is not just the highest level since the introduction of the GST it also signals the biggest fall in real wages since then as well.
Labour market policy director, Greg Jericho, notes in his column in Guardian Australia that even if wages have increased by 2.5% in the next release (up from 2.3% in the 12 months to December) real wages will have fallen 2.5% in the past 12 months.
That would mean real wages would be back at 2014 levels and barely above where they were when the LNP took office in September 2013.
Worse still for low-income earners, in the past 12 months the prices of non-discretionary items rose 6.6%. For those whose income goes more towards paying essential bills than does the average household, the pain of these price rises has been much higher. Their real wages have likely fallen by more than 3% in the past 12 months.
This is why any gloating about a recovery from the pandemic must be tempered to consider the reality of workers’ lives. It is not enough to point to lower unemployment if real wages are falling faster than they ever have outside of the introduction of the GST – especially for lower income earners.
That is not a recovery; that is a failure.
With interest rate rises now very much on the way, without wage rises that account for inflation and properly reward for increases in productivity, workers standard of living is set to fall and see them back where they were nearly a decade ago.
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
“Right to Disconnect” Essential as Devices Intrude Into Workers’ Lives
Australia’s Parliament is set to pass a new set of reforms to the Fair Work Act and other labour laws, that would enshrine certain protections for workers against being contacted or ordered to perform work outside of normal working hours. This “Right to Disconnect” is an important step in limiting the steady encroachment of work
Fixing the work and care crisis means tackling insecure and unpredictable work
The Fair Work Commission is examining how to reduce insecurity and unpredictability in part-time and casual work to help employees better balance work and care. The Commission is reviewing modern awards that set out terms and conditions of employment for many working Australians to consider how workplace relations settings in awards impact on work and
More loopholes to close on insecure work … and a new right to disconnect from work
Late yesterday the final part 2 of the government’s Closing Loopholes industrial relations bill was passed by the Senate.