What a surprise - Albanese's pay-grab 'stampede' to turbo-charge inflation.
Nearly 300,000 disability workers will demand taxpayers fund an above-inflation pay rise in the wake of $15bn in wage increases given to childcare and aged-care staff, piling more pressure on the Albanese government’s ability to rein in inflation.
As Anthony Albanese locks horns with the Reserve Bank over its warnings that galloping government spending will keep interest rates higher for longer, four unions have joined in a Fair Work Commission application to boost the pay of 270,000 disability workers in the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Australian Services Union secretary Angus McFarland said the pay rise would need to be higher than inflation – now running at 3.8 per cent – although unions had not yet decided how much to claim. “They deserve a pay increase to reflect the fact their work has become more complex, skilled and with more responsibility under the NDIS,’’ he said.
“A quarter of workers are leaving the sector every year and by fixing the pay we can stabilise the workforce.’’
