SA Unions demand Bernardi “Please Explain” as One Nation desert minimum wage earners

• Unions are campaigning for a 6% increase to the state minimum wage and are calling on all political leaders to support such an increase.
• One Nation have failed to support this increase, telling SA Unions they’re instead focused on cutting government spending.
• Labor and the SA Greens have pledged their support for a 6% minimum wage increase.

SA Unions Secretary Dale Beasley has called on One Nation leader Cory Bernardi to explain why his party has failed to support a pay increase for low-paid workers who keep South Australia’s public services running.

As of July 1, private sector workers are now benefiting from the Fair Work Commission’s decision to increase the national minimum wage by 6 per cent.

Over 120,000 South Australians employed in the state industrial system are not covered by this increase.

Each year, the South Australian Employment Tribunal conducts the State Wage Case to determine how much to lift the minimum and award wage “safety net” for public sector and local government workers.

Unions are campaigning for a 6 per cent increase to the state minimum wage and a 4.75 per cent increase to rates in state awards.

One Nation have said they are “not in a position to comment on or advocate for outcomes” in the State Wage Case, and instead stated that their focus is on cutting government spending.

The State Wage Case is a vital safeguard for some of the lowest-paid workers in South Australia, who do some of the most important jobs in our community. The decision also flows across the public sector through enterprise agreements which link pay increases to the outcome. Thousands more workers depend on the State Wage Case to drive up allowances and loading entitlements they rely on to make ends meet.

After half a decade of inflation pressures, wages in SA are still 5.7 per cent behind where they were in 2020. A 6 per cent minimum wage rise would finally deliver a real wage rise for the lowest paid workers in the state.

Quotes attributale to SA Unions Secretary Dale Beasley:

• “It’s time for Cory Bernardi to please explain. Every South Australian deserves to know why One Nation has deserted minimum wage earners.”
• “Supporting a pay increase for some of the lowest-paid workers in the state who keep our essential services running should be a no-brainer for any politician that cares about working South Australians.”
• “When low-paid working South Australians need them the most, where are One Nation? Talking about cutting their jobs.”
• “A fortnight after Pauline Hanson called Australian workers lazy and talked about scrapping protections against unfair dismissal, One Nation politicians in SA are starting to show their true colours. Thousands of people who voted for One Nation thinking they’d stick up for ordinary South Australians are right to be bloody angry.”

Quotes attributale to Madie, Public School Educator:

• “You’re only one unexpected event away from your savings disappearing. I’ve done everything I can to save for a house deposit, including moving back in with my parents in my 30s because it wasn’t feasible to save while living on my own. When I’d almost saved enough, my cat got seriously ill. Now house prices have grown at a rate that way outstrips my wages and I can’t catch back up.”
• “I’ve had to put off addressing my health for financial reasons, delaying a surgery that was going to cost me over $5,000. I’ve had weigh up whether it’s worth being in pain or whether I can go without essentials to make sure I can afford the procedure.”
• “A pay rise would mean actually being able to clear your brain and get the recreation and rest to feel refreshed to go back to work.”

Quotes attributale to Daniel, Patient Services Assistant:

• “We do patient transports, cleaning patient rooms, all the unsung work at a hospital. We do it because we love the job and we know that we’re making a difference.”
• “You look at trying to buy a house, trying to rent, and it’s not feasible. I’m being priced out of the suburbs that I grew up in and I’m being pushed further and further away from my support networks, my family, my friends.”
• “For the lowest-paid employees in the state, this pay rise would mean shoes on kids’ feet, food on the table, petrol in the tank. But, for me, it’s more than that. It would mean respect and recognition for our hard work and the sacrifices we make to make our community a better place.”