But it is spreading across finance, energy, retail and aviation, threatening to push up labour costs in industries facing supply-chain bottlenecks and worker shortages. The turmoil is especially pronounced because union power was curtailed in Australia under laws in place since the 1990s. In the year to June, the average Australian wage rose 2.6%, compared with inflation of 6.1%, according to official data. Despite seven interest-rate hikes since May, inflation is set to climb further before subsiding in 2023, the government says. But in the current climate in Australia, workers are in no mood to back down.

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