May 11, 2021
The Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will deliver his third federal budget tonight in Parliament, and his second budget in just six months.
And while the Morrison government has made a few sure announcements about what the budget will include, it has left a lot open for discussion.
Here’s a list of what we’re expecting will be addressed in tonight’s highly anticipated budget.
Extension to low and middle income tax offset
Pre-budget reports suggest the government will extend a temporary tax cut for low and middle income earners for another 12 months, as part of a plan to maintain confidence in the economy.
Australian union chief warns of workers’ pent-up discontent
Australia’s top trade union bureaucrat this week anxiously warned governments and the corporate elite that unrest among workers could break out of control this year, after more than twelve months of job destruction, wage freezes and pay cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus was featured in a prominent interview in the Murdoch media’s
Australian newspaper yesterday to alert the rest of the ruling class to the growing danger of a working-class eruption.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus [Credit: actu.org.au]
“I don’t think people will accept ongoing wage suppression in this country,” McManus told the
2021-05-07 02:06:39 GMT2021-05-07 10:06:39(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua) Australia s top union secretary has warned employers of a concerted push for pay rises if the recovering economy avoids more lockdowns in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), recently declared that Australian workers have a strong appetite for wage increases.
She said employees accepted pay freezes in 2020 amid the pandemic but there would be a lot of pent-up demand for wages increases come the end of the year as Australia s economic recovery continues. People won t accept an ongoing situation of wage suppression where they can see that employers and the big companies of Australia are doing fine. There will be an appetite to address that, said McManus, according to News Corp Australia on Friday.
60% of new jobs created in Australia are casual, according to new analysis. The figure calls into question the strength of Australia s economic recovery. Jack Derwin Delivery workers are at the forefront of the rise in insecure work. (Speed Media, Icon Sportswire)
Australia may be creating a record number of jobs, but they aren t the ones workers need, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has argued.
Six in ten new jobs during the recovery are casual, while Australians increasingly work multiple jobs in the search of sufficient hours.
New analysis from Roy Morgan suggests unemployment and underemployment have risen sharply on pre-pandemic levels, as a Select Committee examines what reforms may be required to strengthen the labour market.
May Day in Parramatta. Photo: Peter Boyle
Sydney’s May Day march on May 1 highlighted the green ban imposed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union on the demolition of Willow Grove, a heritage-listed building which the NSW government wants to “move” to make way for the Powerhouse Museum.
Around 3000 trade unionists and supporters took part in the upbeat rally through the city’s streets from Prince Alfred Park to Willow Grove.
Following the welcome to country by a Dharug woman trade union member, speakers addressed a variety of struggles including the need for international solidarity under COVID-19, the resilience of frontline workers and the injustice of wage freezes and austerity. Natalie Lang from the Australian Services Union and Allen Hicks from the Electrical Trades Union criticised the federal government for its complete failure to act on sexual harassment at work.