General news

Pay rises in private sector federal enterprise agreements (EAs) hit a 16-year high of 4.3% in the middle of this year, according to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations1. This coincided with a record 2.8 million Australians being protected by EAs.

The average annual wage increase for the June quarter for all current EAs was 0.4% higher than the wage price index, and 1.3% higher than CPI, resulting in a real wage increase for workers on EAs of 1.3%.

Tellingly, union-covered agreements approved in the June quarter of this year had average wage increases of 1.2% higher than those not covered by unions, demonstrating the power workers have when we act through our union.

For the finance sector specifically, the FSU negotiated 17 new Enterprise Agreements in 2025, covering nearly 58,000 finance workers. That’s 58,000 people who’ve had a pay rise and seen improvements to their conditions and entitlements.

FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano said the figures were encouraging.

“It’s a long, hard slog, but gradually we’re turning things around for Australian workers when it comes to real pay rises,” said Julia.

“The fact that real wages are continuing to rise is no happy accident – it’s the result of changed policy settings under the current Albanese Government, as well as the hard work of union members standing up and demanding their fair share from employers.”

Remember, the more finance workers who join our union, the louder and more influential we can be.

And with ABS figures from earlier this year showing that workers in unionised workplaces now earn, on average, $250 more per week than non-unionised workers, Australians have more reasons than ever to join their union.

So if you know a colleague who’s on the fence about joining, talk to them today about all the benefits of union membership.