Canberra, Australia, Mar 18, 2019 / 16:01 pm
The Catholic Church in Australia is calling for an increase to the minimum wage in the country, saying that it will help lift families out of poverty.
Megan Kavanagh, a member of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Employment Relations Reference Group, said in a March 17 statement that Australian tradition going back to what is known as the Harvester Case of 1907 dictates that full-time employees with dependents should be able to support themselves without falling into poverty.
"The current level of the minimum wage falls far short of the objective identified and set by Harvester in a much less prosperous Australia 112 years ago," Kavanagh said.
The Church is calling on the Fair Work Commission to step up, arguing that it has not done enough to support hundreds of thousands of families who are suffering from low wages, as well as children who are living in poverty.