The Conversation

A 2% rise next year instead? You have my word. Rui Vieira/PA

Hard Evidence: does the public sector pay better?

Graham Cookson, University of Surrey

The government’s decision to reject the recommended 1% rise in NHS salaries has been met with “contempt” by the unions. The issue of public sector pay has become highly contentious, with each side arguing…

Cold steel: George Osborne visits JCB’s factory in Staffordshire. Rui Vieira/PA

Finance wages soar while manufacturing flatlines

Craig Berry, University of Sheffield

George Osborne promised Britain a “march of the makers” – but as yet, there is little sign that a resurgence of manufacturing is helping the economy to rebalance. It would be naïve to assume that manufacturing…

In some industries, youth wages are still linked to a worker’s age, rather than one’s skill. AAP

Adults in all but pay: the case for increasing youth wages

Damian Oliver, University of Sydney

The Fair Work Commission is currently considering an application for 20-year-olds working in retail to receive 100% of the adult wage, instead of the 90% they currently receive. The direct impact of the…

The health and finance sectors have the largest gender wage gaps, of more than 30%. Jerry Bunkers

Time is running out to close the gender wage gap

Eva Cox, University of Technology Sydney

Equal pay was, and still is, one of the key demands of feminists. Basic to any idea of gender equity should be that paid work is fairly rewarded, whether it’s undertaken by a male or female. In early Australian…

Younger Australians are less likely to benefit from a rise in the compulsory super contribution. AAP

Lifting the super guarantee isn’t good for everybody

Bruce Bradbury, UNSW Sydney

Of the many policy debates in Federal Parliament in 2011, one which gathered support from both major parties was the proposal to lift the superannuation guarantee employer contribution from 9% to 12…