UnionsWA has commented on the release today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of the Wage Price Index series to March 2019.

Meredith Hammat, Secretary UnionsWA said:

“In the face of rising costs of living, these ABS figures show that working West Australians are experiencing the lowest pay rises of any State or Territory in the nation.

“Nationally pay rose by 2.3% in the year to March 2019, but in WA rose by only 1.6%.

“In WA our public sector workforce has experienced lower pay rises than private sector workers.

“Those responsible for our public services such as schools and hospitals in WA, received on average a pay rise in the year to March 2019 of only 1.3%.

“Over the same period those in the private sector received pay increases on average of 1.7%.

“These figures are a timely reminder that working people in WA are finding it harder and harder to keep up with rising living costs.

“Our workplace relations systems, including federal laws and WA State Government Wages Policy, need to change to ensure that pay rises keep pace with costs of living.”

Further information

Wage Price Index, Australia, Mar 2019, ABS 6345.0 (available online here)