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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Richard Denniss

Low wage growth in Australia didn’t happen by accident – it’s the system working as intended

NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) members march from Queen's Square to the NSW Parliament building on Macquarie Street.
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association protest for better pay in February this year. A pay freeze for government workers was implemented in 2020. Photograph: Richard Milnes/REX/Shutterstock

The only people in Australia who can boost wage growth are employers and the only way they can do that is by giving people pay rises.

The whole point of abandoning what was once called “centralised wage fixing” and deregulating the labour market over the past 30 years was to put employers in charge of deciding how much they pay their employees. And, guess what, on the whole Australian employers have decided to boost their profits rather than boost their workers’ wages.

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