F150

[woofa.express]

if Im not mistaken, the pay scale in Australia is about 20% higher then the US?

Just trying to figure apples to apples

Hi Ron.
I don’t know how they compare but are set by law. Both minimum wage and minimum pay rates for different work types are set. Unions watch pay very closely and there are frequent disputes. Unions do an important job but they do love disputes and publicity. From the internet here below are two pertinent points.

20.33 per hour
The national minimum wage is $772.60 per week, for a 38 hour week, or $20.33 per hour. The national minimum wage provides a starting point to calculate your employees' wages, however most employees are covered by an award.

It is well known that membership of trade unions in Australia over the past four decades has declined steadily, from above 50% of the workforce in the 1970s to a little above 15%now.

 

[ronn]

woofa, thats a big help. actually sounds similar to where we are now- so maybe we are close to par on income.

I do understand you pay much more for fuel, housing etc. for the most part, as much is imported.

 

[woofa.express]

woofa, thats a big help. actually sounds similar to where we are now- so maybe we are close to par on income.

I do understand you pay much more for fuel, housing etc. for the most part, as much is imported.

For fuel, yes a leg and at least one testicle. For housing it’s catastrophic. Our population is increasing rapidly with immigration plus many abroad, mainly Asia are buying. The government will give a generous amount towards deposit for first time buyers and that only increases the asking price by the same amount. Home owners are enjoying the rising value of their asset and buyers feel stranded.

 

[Synchro909]

For fuel, yes a leg and at least one testicle. For housing it’s catastrophic. Our population is increasing rapidly with immigration plus many abroad, mainly Asia are buying. The government will give a generous amount towards deposit for first time buyers and that only increases the asking price by the same amount. Home owners are enjoying the rising value of their asset and buyers feel stranded.

Housing is in a bubble but it won't last much longer. In that, we are the same as the US. Big trouble coming, mark my words.

 

[woofa.express]

Housing is in a bubble but it won't last much longer. In that, we are the same as the US. Big trouble coming, mark my words.

Hi Snychro. Agreed. Even blind Freddy can see that coming. And it's not only housing. And it's not only Australia.

 

[updraught]

Unions watch pay very closely and there are frequent disputes. Unions do an important job but they do love disputes and publicity.

The only disputes that I know of in recent times are by nurses and teachers due to Covid. Unions were big in the 1970's and went into decline. The resentment against wealthy land owners goes back to the days of convicts. The young simply don't join unions because they only stay in a job for six months. Then they are on to the next one. Onwards and upwards.

There is a big shortage of labour at the moment even for shop assistants or bar work so money is being thrown at them to get them to come to work.
We average 10 percent below the poverty line whereas the US is about 20 percent from the last figures I heard.

 

[ronn]

We average 10 percent below the poverty line whereas the US is about 20 percent from the last figures I heard.

that figure never seems to chg much here. I am convinced that some of that is due to choice. Of course if one has no health insurance, that to can put you on the bottom quickly here in the US, where every medical procedure is the cost of a cheap house.

I visited your neck of the woods 30 yrs ago and housing was insane then.........