The Queensland government has made a submission to the Fair Work Commission advocating for a 3.5 per cent increase to the national minimum wage.
The state government’s push would see the current minimum hourly wage of $18.93 rise to $25.17 for Queensland’s lowest-paid private sector workers, particularly employees in industries without enterprise bargaining.
The state government’s submission argues the increase is unlikely to decrease employment rates and will promote gender pay equity.
However, the Australian Council of Trade Unions says a 10.7 per cent phased over the next two years is necessary for ensuring no full-time Australian employee would be living below the poverty line.