AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE RISE
HOW MUCH IS IT?
* National minimum wage will be $740.80 a week from July 1
* That's a three per cent or $21.60 a week increase
* The increase is lower than last year's 3.5 per cent and 2017's 3.3 per cent
* But it still amounts to a real wage increase, when adjusting for inflation
WHO GETS IT?
* Fair Work Commission decision directly affects 2.2 million workers - 21 per cent of all employees
* It affects the 180,200 employees paid the minimum wage and those workers whose wages are set by a modern award minimum wage
* Decision indirectly affects many more, particularly those paid close to the minimum wages or whose pay is set by a collective agreement linked to annual wage review
* Affected employees include hospitality workers, cleaners, retail staff, factory process workers, restaurant and takeaway food workers, security guards
* Federal government says just under one-third of award-reliant workers are classified as low paid
HOW DOES AUSTRALIA'S MINIMUM WAGE RANK?
* Australia now has the highest minimum hourly wage globally, and the one with the most purchasing power
* According to a German report in March 2019, Australia's hourly rate of $18.93 was comparable to the highest in the world in Luxembourg
* Australia's new hourly minimum of $19.49 ($US13.51) now puts it above Luxembourg's 11.97 euros ($US13.34)
WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT THIS YEAR'S DECISION?
* "The prevailing economic circumstances provide an opportunity to improve the relative living standards of the low paid, and to enable them to better meet their needs, by awarding a real increase in the NMW and modern award minimum wages." - FWC president Justice Iain Ross
* "It will have serious implications for many small businesses. This is the third increase in a row that is well in excess of inflation, with no link to productivity increases." - Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO James Pearson
* "This is a welcome pay rise for millions of low-paid workers, especially in the face of further penalty rate cuts in a few weeks." - ACTU assistant secretary Liam O'Brien.
