Public sector has upper hand in wage deals

Public servants continue to secure wage increases beyond those of private sector workers and more than double the rate of inflation.

Department of Employment figures show June quarter enterprise bargaining agreements resulted in an average annualised wage increase of 3.9 per cent for the public sector compared with 3.1 per cent in the private sector.

In contrast the wage price index for the June quarter - the Reserve Bank's preferred measure of overall wages growth - showed meagre annual wage growth of 2.3 per cent, and only just ahead of the consumer price index at 1.5 per cent.