Sean Aylmer

So in the end, the commission upped the wage of 100,000 workers on the very minimum amount by nearly 6% and the 2.9 million workers by 4.75%.

In total, 21% of the workforce is directly affected.

A lot of those people are in healthcare, in retail, accommodation and food services, administration and support.

Justice Adam Hatcher from the commission said the wild card, that's how he put it,

of the Middle East conflict and its impact on inflation prevented a bigger rise, but he said the decision was particularly challenging given the ongoing cost of living crisis.

The rise ensures that award employees are not worse off in real terms

Then back on July 1 last year, that's because the Fair Work Commission has used the Reserve Bank's forecast of 4.8% inflation in the year to June as a benchmark.

That's how it came up with its number.

The previous increase was 3.5% for the current financial year.

Inflation's running at 4.2%.

So this financial year looks like there'll be a cut in real wages, and that's what the Fair Work Commission is trying to avoid here.

Both sides of politics welcomed the decision, though they very much put their own spin on it.

No, it has a broader ambit.

So it's exactly as you started that last minute discussion, which I was following most of, Michael.

The point is that it is worried about inflation and it has made a decision to keep it at 4.75%, not more, because it doesn't want to play a role in letting inflation get out of control.

So the view among economists is it probably won't make a huge difference in the near-term inflation outlook.

It applies to minimum wage workers, about 20% of the workforce.

However...

if as is very possible the 4.75 percent becomes the benchmark for broader wage setting across enterprise bargaining agreements then there could be a problem so you could imagine unions and workers going to their bosses and saying well look the minimum wage went up by 4.75 percent surely our wages should go up by 4.75 percent if that happens if this goes broader

then there is definitely an inflationary problem.