The national minimum wage acts as a safety net for employees in the national workplace relations system to provide minimum rates of pay for employees not covered by awards or agreements. National minimum wage orders are made by the Minimum Wage Panel of Fair Work Australia.

Australia's minimum wage is $15.96 per hour or $606.40 per week. Generally, employees in the national system shouldn't get less than this.    ;)

An employee's basic rate of pay depends on such things as their age, job classification and what industrial instrument they're covered by (e.g. a modern award, pre-modern award, transitional Pay Scale, workplace agreement and so on).

The minimum wages received by employees in the national workplace relations system are reviewed by Fair Work Australia annually, with any adjustments taking effect from the first pay period on or after 1 July each year.
The review considers the rates of pay in:

    modern awards - from 1 January 2010 these specify the minimum wage rates for employees covered by a relevant modern award (subject to any transitional provisions)
    The national minimum wage - this applies to award and agreement-free employees.

Employers and employees cannot agree to a rate of pay which is less than the applicable minimum wage. An employee may also be entitled to other allowances or loadings, depending on the job they do (e.g. a casual employee may be entitled to a casual loading).    ;)

Minimum wages result in unemployment being higher than it otherwise would be.

If I were Prime Minister I'd be getting rid of it.

Shane B wrote on Jul 1^st, 2012 at 7:42pm:

Minimum wages result in unemployment being higher than it otherwise would be. If I were Prime Minister I'd be getting rid of it.

So you are in favour of creating an underclass who will not be able to make ends meet?

Frances wrote on Jul 1^st, 2012 at 7:51pm:

Shane B wrote on Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:42pm: Minimum wages result in unemployment being higher than it otherwise would be. If I were Prime Minister I'd be getting rid of it. So you are in favour of creating an underclass who will not be able to make ends meet?

It is ironic that some people maintain that getting rid of the minimum wage would increase employment; but it would definitely impoverish more employees.
In the USA, the minimum wage is below $10, and apparently Germany has no minimum wage, yet the inequality of income in Germany is not as bad as in Australia.
But what about the pension of the recently retired chief justice John Doyle; a mere $261,000 a year, or $5019 a week.

Shane B wrote on Jul 1^st, 2012 at 7:42pm:

Minimum wages result in unemployment being higher than it otherwise would be. If I were Prime Minister I'd be getting rid of it.

What a load of unbelievable nonsense.

Just pay someone $2 per hour and that's OK, huh?

As long as they have a job.

Moron.

Uncle Meat wrote on Jul 1^st, 2012 at 8:31pm:

Shane B wrote on Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:42pm: Minimum wages result in unemployment being higher than it otherwise would be. If I were Prime Minister I'd be getting rid of it. What a load of unbelievable nonsense. Just pay someone $2 per hour and that's OK, huh? As long as they have a job. Moron.

What he says is true.

Shane B wrote on Jul 1^st, 2012 at 7:42pm:

Minimum wages result in unemployment being higher than it otherwise would be. If I were Prime Minister I'd be getting rid of it.

would you work for $10 hr?

01 July, 2012 | Media Release Australia’s lowest paid workers will from today begin receiving an extra $17.10 in their weekly pay packet, as a result of this year’s National Minimum Wage review.

About 1.4 million workers have been granted an extra 2.9% in their wages, helping them and their families keep pace with the rising cost of living, following the annual wage review by Fair Work Australia.

ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said the award-dependent workers, who will receive the annual wage increase as the new financial year starts, includes about 100,000 on the minimum wage.

“Those lowest paid workers will receive $17.10 a week extra, taking their weekly wage to $606.40 a week, or $15.96 an hour,” Mr Oliver said. “For these workers, the Fair Work Australia Annual Wage Review is their only chance of a pay rise.

“Every year, unions launch an annual wage case to ensure that all workers have a decent safety net. Over the past decade, the gap between workers who are dependent on award wages and the rest of the workforce has widened dramatically, and unions will continue to advocate on their behalf so they do not fall further behind.”

Last month’s annual wage review decision affects about one in six Australian workers who are solely dependent on their industry awards to set their pay.

For people with mid-level skills, such as retail shop managers, or trades-qualified workers, their weekly earnings should rise to $706.10 or $18.58 an hour.

Mr Oliver said the start of the new financial year should also signal a wage rise for many other workers on enterprise bargaining agreements or over-award contracts.

“Now that the minimum wage has gone up, all workplace agreements and contracts need to be checked to make sure that the rates of pay stay above the legal minimum,” Mr Oliver said.

“This means that some workers on workplace agreements or over-award contracts will be entitled to a pay rise, because the award rate is the absolute minimum an employer can pay a worker. For others, wage rises in their enterprise agreements often also take effect at this time of the year.”

Mr Oliver said the ACTU would again hold a National Check Your Pay Day on Monday, 16 July – the date by which most workers should have received their first pay for the new financial year.

“Workers should check their wages against the legal minimum rates to ensure they are not being underpaid thanks to the increase in the minimum wages,” he said.

“We understand that the system can be complicated for workers to navigate, so on July 16 we are urging workers to call our Unions Australia helpline on 1300 4 UNION (1300 4 86466) to get expert advice on what you should be paid – and what you should do if your pay is incorrect.”

And the gap between those on No-Start and EVERYONE else just gets wider.......

Well of course this gap will get wider with some of the comments here

You say the minimum wage is alright, for some people, but you don't thinks its alright for others.

Getting rid of minimum wage cruel. That needs to be in place. The working poor are called that because their wage is already poor enough.

I would like to see CEO's money linked to the lowest paid in the org. All monies bonus's expenses, the lot as a percentage greater than the lowest.

The more you pay your lowest, the more you can spend on your CEO and its expenses.

While im at suggesting.
How about we link politicians wages to a percentage greater than the minimum wage or link it to a percentage greater than the dole and pension.

Kat wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2012 at 9:16am:

And the gap between those on No-Start and EVERYONE else just gets wider.......

The way to reduce the gap might involve getting a job...lol.

progressiveslol wrote on Jul 4^th, 2012 at 6:47am:

Getting rid of minimum wage cruel. That needs to be in place. The working poor are called that because their wage is already poor enough. I would like to see CEO's money linked to the lowest paid in the org. All monies bonus's expenses, the lot as a percentage greater than the lowest. The more you pay your lowest, the more you can spend on your CEO and its expenses. While im at suggesting. How about we link politicians wages to a percentage greater than the minimum wage or link it to a percentage greater than the dole and pension.

Commo

Doctor Jolly wrote on Jul 4^th, 2012 at 12:45pm:

progressiveslol wrote on Jul 4th, 2012 at 6:47am: Getting rid of minimum wage cruel. That needs to be in place. The working poor are called that because their wage is already poor enough. I would like to see CEO's money linked to the lowest paid in the org. All monies bonus's expenses, the lot as a percentage greater than the lowest. The more you pay your lowest, the more you can spend on your CEO and its expenses. While im at suggesting. How about we link politicians wages to a percentage greater than the minimum wage or link it to a percentage greater than the dole and pension. Commo

lol thats not commo, that just stops runaway greed. They are free to pay the workers what they want. The only people who are pegged are the greedy lot.

Anyone who thinks they are worth more than 500k a year would have to be greedy.

road to serfdom proglol

road to serfdom.

JC Denton wrote on Jul 4^th, 2012 at 1:08pm:

road to serfdom proglol road to serfdom. choo choo all aboard the hayek train

Not exactly. If you identify a problem with a system, you have to come up with solutions or you could pretend it doesn't exist and let the system fail.

It doesnt have to be road to serfdom, commie.

Because you are not setting absolutes (in dollar terms (apart from minimum wage), then it is not commie. They can earn as much as they like within a framework. Happens all the time, everywhere.