It��s time to revive the social wage: ACTU

The Age

Wednesday March 17, 2010

By BEN SCHNEIDERS

AUSTRALIA needs to tackle rising inequality through the revival of the ��social wage��, with a greater role for the federal government in health and education and in providing ��dignity in retirement��.ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence, in an address to the National Press Club today, will say that unions created Medicare and superannuation through the social wage.It was a key part of the 1980s and 1990s accord between unions and the Hawke and Keating governments.Mr Lawrence, who is expected to announce today the ACTU��s minimum wage claim, will say that over the past two decades ��profit share has grown and the wage share has shrunk�� with household fixed expenses rising. Working people have had more and more ��expenses pushed from the state and employers on to them��.��Let me tell you, after recently witnessing the devastating effect of income inequality in the US, I believe it is time we reinvigorated the debate on the social wage, how we as a nation create a more equal society.��Mr Lawrence will also call for the Henry tax review to be measured against the needs of working Australians, to ensure the tax system is fair and ��provides the revenue base to give us the social wage the Australian people want��.He will also call for more incentives for low-income workers to contribute to superannuation and for a crackdown on sanctioned tax avoidance.