Australians will be $100 billion collectively worse-off as companies slash wages and reneg on enterprise agreements in order to deliver better returns for shareholders.
The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work report, Consequences of Wage Suppression for Australia’s Superannuation System, revealed that it’s not only Australian retirement funds being stripped of funds. The Federal Government will also suffer losses equivalent to around $37 billion in lost taxes due to lower super contributions and the resulting higher Age Pension payouts.
Individual retirees could lose up to $270,000 as a result of the super slash.
The lost super will result from wage freezes, reduced penalty rates, abandoned workplace and enterprise agreements and wages theft.
Unions are calling on superannuation funds not to invest in companies that are suppressing wages.
Among companies being accused of the superannuation wipe-out that will affect millions of Australians are Qantas, Aerocare, Streets Ice Cream, Dominos, 7-Eleven, Caltex, Aurizon, Griffin Coal and Murdoch University.
“The Federal Government is standing by and allowing this to happen, even supporting companies which rip their workers off,” said Transport Workers Union National Secretary Tony Sheldon.
Interestingly, the report revealed that employee-friendly companies actually outperformed hostile employers by 6.6 per cent annually.
Will you boycott products and services from these companies? Does your super fund invest in any of these companies or their subsidiaries?
Related articles:
Government attacks Industry Super again
Superannuation fund law overhaul
Super tax carve-up explained
