Aussie Opposition reveals plan for "living wage" for low-paid Australians

CANBERRA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) has revealed its plan to transform the minimum wage into a "living wage" if it wins Australia's general election in May.

ALP leader Bill Shorten and Brendan O'Connor, the party's employment and workplace relations spokesperson, announced in a statement on Tuesday that they would direct the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to identify "what a living wage should be" and phase in minimum wage increases to meet the target.

"Getting wages moving again is vital for our economy, it's essential for families battling rising living costs and it's the right thing to do for the working people who help create our national wealth," the statement said.

According to the plan, Labor's living wage policy will directly benefit around 1.2 million Australians, or one in 10 workers.

The living wage would apply to the Australia's minimum wage, which is currently set at 18.93 Australian dollars (13.46 U.S. dollars) per hour.

The policy will be one of the foundations in the ALP's campaigning in the lead-up to May's general election.

Australia has recently experienced the slow sustained rate wage growth. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), nominal wages have grown by only 2 percent since 2015.

"Boosting wages is good for workers and good for the economy. Consumer spending makes up 60 percent of the Australian economy. Stagnant wages have held back spending and put a handbrake on economic growth," Shorten and O'Connor said.

"When low-paid workers get a pay rise, they spend it in the local shops and help small businesses. It's good for everyone.

"A living wage should make sure people earn enough to make ends meet and be informed by what it costs to live in Australia today -- to pay for housing, for food, for utilities, to pay for a basic phone and data plan."

The plan has been attacked by businesses, with the Australian Industry Group (AIG), the group representing Australian employers, saying that the ALP's claims about the FWC not considering the needs of low-paid workers were not based in fact.

"There is no point in having an independent tribunal to determine wages and working conditions if parliament is going to dictate what decisions the tribunal must make or is going to impose unbalanced criteria to ensure that the tribunal's decisions favour one party over another," AIG Chief Executive Innes Willox told News Corp Australia.

"The proposal would result in workers with the lowest level of skill being paid more than those with higher skills or would result in employees at a number of different skill levels being paid the same amount --for example, a forklift driver being paid the same amount as an unskilled labourer."

Addressing slow wage growth earlier in March, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told Sky News that jobs had been saved as a result.

"The whole point -- it is important to ensure that wages can adjust in the context of economic conditions -- is to avoid massive spikes in unemployment, which are incredibly disruptive," he said.

"This is a deliberate feature of our economic architecture."