New ABS data shows that the private sector was delivering the strongest wages growth in a decade before huge workplace relations changes came into effect, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.
"It's great news for workers that businesses are delivering the biggest wage increases since 2012.
"The six out of seven workers employed by a business are better off than anyone else in this data with wages up 3.6 per cent over the year.
"To make sure Australians feel the benefits of the strongest wages growth in a decade, Australia will have to work even harder to drive down inflation. To sustain strong wages growth we'll have to drive a higher productivity economy and that means urgently lifting record low business investment because that's what lets businesses do new things, expand and innovate
"It's great news that wages are growing strongly but there is a risk that more rigidity and new hugely complex multi-employer agreements will stall our momentum.
"Australians can't afford a system that slows down this strong private sector wages growth and forces them to wait while unions, lawyers and businesses squabble over who can be at the negotiating table before they even get to discussing conditions and wages.
