AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS CRITICISES NATIONAL WAGE RISE
Business groups criticised the
Arbitration Commission's national wage case decision announced
earlier but the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) gave
it qualified approval.
    As earlier reported, the commission awarded a 10 dlr a week
flat rise plus the opportunity for unions to bargain
immediately for extra payments of up to four pct based on the
new two-tier system which replaced wage indexation.
    "The decision is economically irresponsible and industrially
naive," said Bryan Noakes, director-general of the Confederation
of Australian Industry's industrial council.
