Australian Unions will argue for a 6 per cent Annual Wage Review increase for the country’s three million lowest paid workers.

Unions had been claiming a 5 percent increase in minimum wages but have bumped that up to 6 per cent; after Tuesday’s Budget forecast inflation is expected to reach 5 per cent by the middle of 2026.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions ‘s (ACTU’s) claim will increase the minimum wage to $26.45 per hour, lifting the weekly rate to $1,004.88.

Even before the conflict, Australian workers’ real wages were 4.5 per cent lower than they were in March 2021 after the last prices spike due to COVID, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The upcoming Annual Wage Review decision is due within weeks and directly impacts the wages of three million workers whose pay is set by awards. It also benefits all working Australians by setting a minimum wage floor underneath the national wages system that people bargain from.

“When unions made our initial wage claim in March, inflation was only predicted to be 4.2 per cent,” said ACTU Secretary Sally McManus (pictured). “Now it is expected to hit at least 5 per cent. But the truth is no-one knows what will happen with oil prices and inflation could be even higher.

“The lowest paid Australians can’t be left short like they were during the post-COVID inflation spike.”