On the second of June, the Fair Work Commission handed down it’s Annual Wage Review decision, announcing massive pay rises for millions of workers on 1 July.

The announcement detailed a 5.75% increase to all modern awards, including Retail, Fast Food and Storage Services Award as of 1 July 2023.

This equates to an extra $1.34 in pay per hour for adult Level 1 workers on the retail and fast food awards.
This 5.75% increase will also apply to rate of pay in Enterprise Agreements where the rates of pay are determined by the Annual Wage Review increase.

At the time of writing, Woolworths has committed to passing on the wage increase in full to all hourly wages rates team members working in Woolworths Metro, Supermarkets, CFC’s and Big W effective Monday, 3 July. We expect many other companies will soon follow suit.

At a time when many Australians are skipping meals, struggling to pay the bulls and cutting out essentials, this pay rise is a necessity.

Strong wage increases like this – which deliver more money into the wallets of essential workers – is exactly what is needed to address the current cost of living crisis.

This huge win wouldn’t have been possible without the work of unions and the support of union members.

While employer groups argued for pay rises as low as 3%, the SDA campaigned in stores and in your communities to ensure you received a real and immediate pay rise.

The Superannuation Guarantee will also go up a further .5% to 11% on July 1, another big win for workers.

You will receive more information from the SDA about how this affects you and what your new rate of pay will be. If you have any other questions, I encourage you to contact one of our friendly Information Officers for assistance.