Linda Reynolds stumbled on TV when questioned about Mathias Cormann’s views on wage increases.
Asserting that salaries change with the economy is a “deliberate design element” isn’t enough for incoming defence minister Linda Reynolds.
During an uncomfortable television appearance on Sunday morning, the newly appointed cabinet minister was questioned whether she thought that pay flexibility and keeping wages low is a purposeful part of Australia’s economic architecture to assist generate job development.
Reynolds first disputed the statement and slammed Bill Shorten for saying it, believing it was part of his economic message.
I don’t believe that at all, and I think Bill Shorten’s claim demonstrates a basic misunderstanding of economics,” Reynolds said.
When told that Cormann, not Shorten, made the case, she claimed her colleague was “exactly correct.”
Last week, Cormann presented a technical case for the relationship between wages and unemployment.
The Finance Minister said that it was “a intentional component of our economic design” that “wages may change in the context of economic situations… to prevent big spikes in unemployment, which are tremendously disruptive.”
On Sunday morning, Labor seized on Cormann’s remark and slammed Reynolds’ slip, since all main parties were now on equal footing.
Mr. Chalmers said the two government officials’ comments showed “stagnant wage growth under the Liberals is not an accident – it’s a determined policy aim.”
Labor is exploring legislative measures ranging from reinstating penalty rates, tightening laws surrounding labour hiring, and revising the minimum wage in an attempt to raise the pay packets of low-paid employees.
A new government’s goals will be part of how the Fair Work Commission pursues a living wage, Chalmers said.
Labor intends to change the factors the FWC considers when setting minimum pay.
“We must urge the Fair Work Commission,” Chalmers stated.
A new administration might also use “levers” like labour hiring restrictions, limiting “fake contracts, questionable visas, and universal penalty rates,” he added.
The ACTU wants industry-wide bargaining restored, but business organisations are concerned.
Noting that the enterprise negotiating system was unfair, Chalmers said Labor was looking into measures to make it fairer for low-wage workers, including introducing industry-wide bargaining opportunities.
A fair go is clear to any impartial observer of the workforce right now, he added.
“Wages are the hallmark of an economy that fails regular people.”
