Less than a fortnight after Prime Minister John Howard told the small business community that no one would benefit more than it from Work Choices, a survey has found that 40% of small businesses believe the legislation is unfair to employees, while only 9% said they are planning to use it to change employment, pay or conditions.
Australia requires further simplification of its IR system and should consider tax credits for low-paid workers to allow for lower minimum wage increases in the future, according to the OECD.
The AiG has proposed a "cautious" $14-a-week increase in all minimum award pay rates in its submission to the Fair Pay Commission, releasing new survey results showing small businesses are hardest hit by safety net wage rises.
The ACCI supports the Fair Pay Commission granting a "moderate" pay increase that is restricted to workers at the federal minimum wage, currently $484.40 or $12.75 an hour.
The DEWR's submission to the Fair Pay Commission supports a minimum wage increase but refuses to cite a quantum, while its consultant's report provides the new pay-setting body with a handy rule of thumb: Every 1% rise in minimum wages cuts 52,300 jobs and pares economic growth by 0.33%.
The ACTU has savaged OWS summaries of its investigations of people involved in the unions' TV advertising campaign against Work Choices as "a disgrace" that lacks credibility, professionalism, reasonableness or fairness.
Some 20,000 Target employees will receive a 3.8% annual pay rise under one of the first major union retail agreements struck under Work Choices, while the SDA has also now finalised deals with Super Cheap Auto and Ikea.
The ACTU says its $30-a-week across-the-board wages claim, which it will formally submit to the Australian Fair Pay Commission later today, has to cover an 18-month period given the time lag between the last AIRC increase and the first one expected under the new Work Choices wage-setting regime.
The ALP will allow Fringe Benefits Tax exemptions for employers providing childcare as part of an early childhood policy that would also let workers salary sacrifice fees for employer-provided child care.
