Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering on its commitments to help Australian workers earn more and keep more of what they earn?

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Banks for the question and also congratulate him on his election and his inspiring first speech this morning.

Every day since coming into government, this side of the House has been absolutely focused on supporting Australians with the cost of living. One of the key ways we are doing this is by getting wages moving again. Of course, we have introduced measures that have improved wages for working people, and this has been after a decade, under those opposite, of deliberate wage suppression. We're now seeing the return of real wages growth, with annual real wages growing for 18 months in a row under Labor. We have reinvigorated the bargaining system, making it easier for employers and employees to make agreements in workplaces, with the number of employees covered by enterprise agreements now at a record high.

Of course, we know that workers on agreements benefit from bigger wage increases. We've also closed the labour hire loophole with our 'same job, same pay' changes—meaning some workers are now earning $60,000 more as a result. Our right-to-disconnect laws have given workers the right to clock off. A recent HR Institute study found that more than half of businesses reported that our changes improved engagement and productivity.

We're closing the gender pay gap. We've seen the gender pay gap hit a record low under our government. We've backed and funded a 15 per cent pay increase for early educators and up to 28.5 per cent for workers in aged care. These workers have been undervalued for too long, and our government values them. Ensuring Aussie workers earn more and keep more of what they earn is a key focus for our government.

We are now delivering on our election commitments. We made a submission to the Fair Work Commission for a real wage increase for our lowest paid workers. Now, minimum-wage earners are earning $9,120 more a year since we were first elected in 2022. Our government will ban unfair non-compete clauses that are holding Aussies back from moving into better, higher paid jobs. Tomorrow, I will introduce legislation to protect the penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards so workers who rely on the safety net will not go backwards.

Our government is backing Aussie workers. The Albanese Labor government is focused on delivering on our commitments to build Australia's future, ease cost-of-living pressures and help Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.