Enterprise coverage hits 3.3 million
More than 3.3 million Australians are now covered under enterprise agreements in the Federal workplace relations system, according to a report released by the Federal Government.
The Trends in Enterprise Bargaining Report for the December quarter 2012 shows the Fair Work system drove an annualised wage increase of 3.4 per cent across all agreements in the 2012 year.
Minister for Workplace Relations Bill Shorten said the report also shows an additional 400,000 people are now covered under enterprise agreements.
"This is the largest quarterly increase in the number of people covered by new agreements since the beginning of the Fair Work Act," Mr Shorten said.
"Having more working Australians involved in enterprise agreements helps benefit employers and employees by delivering sustainable wages growth and improved productivity.
"We now have more than 3.3 million working Australians covered by over 24,000 enterprise agreements made under the Fair Work Act, providing more people with flexible working arrangements and entitlements that suit their needs and those of their employers."
The December 2012 quarter Trends report is available at:www.deewr.gov.au/WorkplaceRelations/Pages/Reports.aspx