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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-02-18 Daily Xml
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Minimum Wage Increase

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:25): Thank you, Mr President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The deputy leader—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: —and the leader are both out of order. The Government Whip has the call.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Thank you, Mr President. My question is to the Treasurer.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Can the Treasurer outline the results—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Sit down, please. The conversations across the chamber this week have been increasing and they are particularly out of order. The Hon. Mr Hood has the call.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Thank you, sir. My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline the results of a recent decision for an increase in the adult minimum wage in South Australia?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:26): Thank you, Mr President, for restoring order there. When you get to my age, it gets much harder—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: When you get to my age, it gets much harder to hear, even someone behind me, so I thank you for your assistance in quietening the opposition. It is an important question, and there was a recent decision by the South Australian Employment Tribunal on 12 February, I believe, in relation to the adult minimum wage in South Australia. Workers and worker representatives, I am sure, will be interested in these decisions taken by the Employment Tribunal.

The decision of 12 February reflected consent orders agreed between the government and SA Unions for a 1.75 per cent increase to the minimum wage under SA public sector awards. I think either yesterday or the day before, I reflected on some recent enterprise bargaining negotiations that we had entered into, successful ones with the Festival Centre staff and the HomeStart staff, which settled wage increases at 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent. This increase in the minimum wage under public sector awards is at a higher level than that set by the tribunal, at 1.75 per cent.

That 1.75 per cent is consistent with the recent decision of the minimum wage panel of the Fair Work Commission in the annual wage review for 2019-20, which was effective from the first pay period on or after 1 July last year. This decision, whilst important for those workers that it impacts, only impacts a relatively small cohort of workers in the public sector in South Australia, I am advised some 200 employees, because the overwhelming majority of employees are covered by enterprise agreements, similar to the enterprise agreements that I indicated earlier this week had been successfully negotiated over recent weeks and months.

Of course, some time ago South Australia, together with many other jurisdictions, handed over responsibility for the industrial relations of the private sector in particular to the commonwealth jurisdiction, and so states like South Australia are left with, essentially, responsibility for the state public sector and local government, and we have those limited responsibilities in terms of negotiating wage settlements. Whilst it is a small cohort of the public sector, it is nevertheless an important decision for that small cohort.

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