Australian Fair Pay Commission

The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) was established in 2005 to replace the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC). While the AIRC decided the Australian minimum wage by a process of arbitration of employer and union claims, the Fair Pay Commission's Chairman, Ian Harper, together with four other commissioners, will set minimum wage levels based on promoting "economic prosperity", rather than on any idea of a fair wage for the lowest paid workers.

Objectives
The legislation establishing the AFPC gives it the following objectives (Section 7J, p.29):

"The objective of the AFPC in performing its wage-setting function is to promote the economic prosperity of the people of Australia having regard to the following: (a) the capacity for the unemployed and low paid to obtain and remain in employment; (b) employment and competitiveness across the economy; (c) providing a safety net for the low paid; (d) providing minimum wages for junior employees, employees to whom training arrangements apply and employees with disabilities that ensure those employees are competitive in the labour market."

This removes any requirement for the minimum wage to be "fair" - a rule which bound the previous Industrial Relations Commission. 

Membership
The five Fair Pay Commissioners are :
 * Ian Harper - Chairman, member of the Centre for Independent Studies council of academic advisors
 * Judith Sloan - Member of the Centre for Independent Studies council of academic advisors and regular participant in HR Nicholls Society events
 * Mike O'Hagan - Multimillionaire businessman and Reserve Bank's advisory board member.
 * Patrick McClure - Outgoing head of Mission Australia
 * Hugh Armstrong - Former secretary of the Australian Services Union

Criticism
The Australian Labor Party has dubbed the Fair Pay Commission the "low pay commission". 

Other Sourcewatch Resources

 * Australian Industrial Relations reforms

External Resources

 * The World Today, ALP dubs new IR body 'low pay commission', Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 7 June 2005.
 * Stephen Smith, No Fairness In The Fair Pay Commission And The Minimum Wage, Australian Labor Party, Media Statement, 2nd November 2005.
 * Kevin Andrews, Australian Fair Pay Commission, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, 9 Oct 2005.
 * Details of Fair Pay Commission revealed ABC News, Monday, March 27, 2006.