Abstract
The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) was established by the Howard
government under the controversial WorkChoices legislation. It was heralded by its
supporters as a major improvement on the previous system of safety-net wage cases
under the Industrial Relations Commission and universally condemned by the union
movement and Labor. Others questioned whether a minimum wage was needed at
all or even whether it was a major impediment to labour-market adjustment. The
AFPC’s first and subsequent decisions were, therefore, looked on with interest by
the media, academics, politicians and vested interests. This paper provides a critique
of the AFPC’s first decisions and suggests how the process of arriving at a minimum
wage could be improved.
government under the controversial WorkChoices legislation. It was heralded by its
supporters as a major improvement on the previous system of safety-net wage cases
under the Industrial Relations Commission and universally condemned by the union
movement and Labor. Others questioned whether a minimum wage was needed at
all or even whether it was a major impediment to labour-market adjustment. The
AFPC’s first and subsequent decisions were, therefore, looked on with interest by
the media, academics, politicians and vested interests. This paper provides a critique
of the AFPC’s first decisions and suggests how the process of arriving at a minimum
wage could be improved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 45-64 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Agenda |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
