00:00William Seamans puts his life on the line as a security guard for a base wage of just over $1,000 a week.
00:10The industry does need a pay rise. A lot of people don't realise security officers, wherever we are, we're on the ward. That's our base.
00:17All industry awards and the minimum wage are going up by 3.5% in July.
00:23This inflationary episode is now over.
00:25This provides us with an opportunity to go at least some of the way towards correcting what has happened over the last four years by awarding a real increase.
00:35Fair Work's annual ruling gives the lowest paid workers an extra $0.85 an hour to just under $25, bringing the minimum wage up to $948 a week or $49,000 a year.
00:50It's a great outcome because it's 1.1% more than inflation.
00:55The union movement had lobbied for an increase of 4.5% while the government asked the commission for an economically sustainable real wage rise.
01:05This decision will not just help them get by but will start to help them get ahead.
01:11I think the commission could do better. We're dealing with the poorest 20% of the labour market. They only account for 10% of total labour costs.
01:19Business groups were lobbying for much less.
01:22Retail, hospitality, restaurants and cafes, they've been doing it tough. Many of those small businesses will really struggle to afford an increase of this magnitude.
01:32The commission says it's satisfied that businesses can handle this higher wage bill.
01:37It says that profits have been steady and that business conditions are likely to improve as lower interest rates boost spending power.
01:45These people aren't going to go out there and blow inflation. People on these wages will get maybe, you know, a McDonald's meal for their kids.
01:53With the interest rates, with this, it's a start.
01:55The ACTU wants an even bigger boost next year.
01:59The ACTU weighs 241.
02:01The ACTU wants an even bigger boost next year.
02:02The ACTU should be assembled each regionďż˝
02:17about one hundred.
02:19The ACTU pushes them yet.
02:20And I will make it all niego into one another.
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