Bill Shorten rejects creation of a US-style working poor in Australia

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/bill-shorten-rejects-creation-working-poor

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The federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, says he will not support the creation of a US-style working poor in Australia, after business groups called for any minimum wage increase to be deferred this year.

The Fair Work Commission sets minimum wage increases in Australia. Workers were granted a rise of $15.80 a week last June.

Industry bodies such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Industry Group (AiGroup) say any increase in 2014 should be minimised or deferred because business has been hit with higher penalty rates, apprentice wages and superannuation levies.

"With employment growth very slow for most of last year and not looking all that healthy as we head into 2014, we need to avoid adding to costs," the AiGroup chief executive, Innes Willox, said.

But Shorten said 1.5m Australians relied on the minimum wage, which was part of the strong safety net to prevent an underclass of working poor.

There was a process to set the minimum wage and all parties were welcome to put their position.

"Labor does not support a working poor as we see in the United States," he said on Thursday.

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