"While broadly expected, the rise in headline inflation over the past year to 6.1% is a clear reminder that inflation is a major threat to the longer-term health of the economy and to the ability to generate real incomes growth," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today.
"With much of the price pressures due to particular temporary factors in goods markets, it is critical that current inflation levels do not get backed into future wage rises particularly in multi-year agreements.
"In the national interest, unions need to immediately back away from exorbitant and unaffordable wage claims that will cost jobs and further fuel inflation.
"It is also critical that we boost the supply capacity of the economy including by removing the barriers to both short-term and long-term immigration and making more progress on lifting productivity," Mr Willox said.
