Prices and Incomes Accord

rdf:langString Prices and Incomes Accord

rdf:langString The Prices and Incomes Accord was an agreement between the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Labor Party government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer (later Prime Minister) Paul Keating in 1983. Employers were not party to the Accord. Unions agreed to restrict wage demands and the government pledged to minimise inflation. The government was also to act on the social wage. At its broadest this concept included increased spending on education as well as welfare. This was seen as a method to reduce inflation without reducing the living standards of Australians. At the beginning of the Accord, only one union, the New South Wales Nurses Federation, voted against the Accord. The Accord continued for the whole period of the Labor government through seven stages including, after 1993, enterprise bargaining. The first Accord secured for all workers a 4.3% pay rise (September 1983), a 4.1% pay rise (April 1984), and a deferred 2.6% pay rise over the initial 3-year period, improvements in family payments and child care, and the introduction of Medicare. Unemployment also fell from over 10% (in the 2nd quarter of 1983) to just under 8%. Other achievements won by the Accord during its first three years included: * The establishment of the Economic Planning Advisory council. * The introduction of the Tripartite Australian manufacturing council, together with other industry councils. * The introduction of a National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. * Increases in family income supplements for low-income families. * Targeted tax cuts for low-income and middle-income workers. * The introduction of various tax avoidance measures. * Increased pensions and unemployment benefits. * The fastest employment and economic growth in the OECD. * The introduction of various steel and vehicle industry plans. * Pay rises of 3.8% (November 1985) and 2.3% (1 July 1986). * The introduction of 3% award superannuation. * Cut to the top personal tax rate from 60 cents to 47 cents in the dollar.