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Food Price Rises Have Outstripped Wage Increases
Food Price Rises Have Outstripped Wage Increases
The annual increase in food prices of 6.6 percent in the August 2011 year has outstripped wage increases of just 1.9 percent as shown in the Labour Cost Index", says CTU Secretary Peter Conway.
Peter Conway said "unfortunately it is low income families who spend a higher proportion of their income on food and necessities that bear the brunt of these price rises. They also largely missed out on the tax cuts since 2008 which saw the top 10 percent get tax cuts worth $2.5 billion a year while GST increases forced up the cost of living".
The increase in annual food prices for the August year is down from the 7.9 percent increase for the year to July 2011 but is still having a major effect on households. For instance, fruit and vegetable prices are up by 13.2 percent.
The overall Consumer Price Index remains high at 5.3 percent.
Peter Conway said that wages will need to rise simply to keep up with the cost of living and the Government will need to take the steep rise in prices into account when they review the minimum wage which is already too low. Unions will argue that the minimum wage should be at least $15 an hour.
ENDS
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