Palaszczuk Government welcomes minimum wage increase

The Palaszczuk Government has welcomed the Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase the take-home pay of workers earning the minimum wage.

Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said the decision would see around 400,000 Queensland workers on the minimum wage receive a 2.4 per cent pay rise, worth $15.80 a week.

“This is a fair and responsible decision which the Palaszczuk Government welcomes,” she said.

“In our submission to the Fair Work Commission, we supported a fair pay rise for minimum wage earners, and that’s what this decision delivers.

“Around 400,000 Queenslanders, many of them women, rely on the annual wage review to make ends meet.

“Not all workers are in a position to directly negotiate with their employer for a pay rise, and that’s why the annual wage review is so important.”

Ms Grace said the minimum wage increase was economically responsible.

“In 2015 the Fair Work Commission acknowledged that ‘modest and regular increases in minimum wages have a small or even zero impact on employment’,” she said.

“This is a responsible pay increase that Queensland can afford, and it’s the right thing to do.”

The new minimum wage will take effect from July 1.

Media Contact: Martin Philip 0427 919 548