Business lobby joins unions in calling for lift in minimum wages for skilled visa workers

Although the call by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) for multi-employer bargaining has proved contentious, consensus is emerging on the need to increase migration and to replace onerous skills lists and labour market testing with quicker ways to bring workers from overseas.

From 2025 the permanent intake could fall back to 190,000, in line with pre-pandemic planning, it said.

The BCA suggested temporary skilled visas should be available for any jobs that pay above $90,000, with a $100,000 threshold for permanent migrants.

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The ACTU has conditionally agreed to an increase in 40,000 migrants a year to 200,000 but it wants this to come hand-in-hand with wages increases, including lifting the pay floor for temporary skilled migrants from $53,000 to $91,000.

Adam Bandt, the leader of the minor party, has signalled it would seek to amend any legislation coming out of the summit so as to include an immediate pay rise for minimum wage workers and those in female-dominated industries.

Pocock noted the stage three tax cuts, due to come into effect in 2024 and which the Greens want abolished, would disproportionately benefit men as higher-income earners, flagging this as a factor in their push for better pay in women-dominated industries.