Bundaberg business owners are rightly concerned about the $28 per week increase in the minimum wage sought by the ACTU. From the Bundaberg News Mail:

BUNDABERG business owners fear a proposed minimum wage rise of $28 a week could be the last straw, following a tough few months of floods and tourism downturns.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is pushing for the rise from the current $569.90 a week at a hearing that started yesterday before the Fair Work Australia Minimum Wage Panel.

By raising the cost of labour, this could result in lower levels of employment, particularly in businesses already under pressure:

…restaurateur Ralph Reali said the ACTU’s proposal would force many businesses to cut staff and reduce hours.

Mr Reali, who owns Italian eatery Pappar’Delles, in Woongarra St, fears the bid will mean more hours spent over saucepans and less time with his family.

“I think people out there really underestimate how difficult it is to operate a profitable small business these days,” he said.

Let’s hope the Fair Work Australia Minimum Wage Panel comes to a sensible compromise between the ACTU’s $28 per week claim and the $9.50 per week increase sought by ACCI, which would only amount to a 1.7% pay rise (i.e. less than the expected rate of inflation at 2-3%).

The Gillard Government will be hoping for wage restraint, too, as a large increase in the minimum wage is the last thing it needs when it’s trying to encourage welfare recipients, many of whom will be low-skilled, back into work.