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CANBERRA Tyler Wong Golden Knights Jersey , June 4 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national industrial relations tribunal on Wednesday granted a three percent wage rise to the country's lowest paid workers.


The Fair Work Commission announced in its annual review that minimum wages would rise from July 1 to 640.90 AU dollars per week (594 U.S. dollars), an increase of 18.70 AU dollars (17.33 U.S. dollars).


The decision will directly affect about 1.5 million Australians on award wages and strikes a middle ground between the rival pay demands of employers and workers.


Representatives of both groups criticized the decision, the former saying the increase would harm business and job prospects, the latter saying the pay rise was insufficient for those on lower incomes when the economy was generally performing strongly.


Commission president Justice Iain Ross said the decision reflected next to zero growth in the real value of award wages at a time when other employees in the country had enjoyed substantial pay increases.


"The deterioration in the relative living standards of award- reliant workers; the needs of the low-paid; the recent widespread improvement in labor productivity growth; the historically low levels of real unit labor costs; and the absence, in aggregate Tomas Nosek Golden Knights Jersey , of cost pressures from the labor market are all factors favoring a real increase in minimum wages," he said.


The country's peak union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), had sought a weekly rise of 27 AU dollars (25 U.S. dollars) but employers said they would not be able to afford an increase of more than 8.50 (7.88 U.S. dollars) AU dollars a week.


Several business groups criticized the rise.


The Australian Industry Group (AIG) said it would put more pressure on struggling employers, particularly in manufacturing Tomas Hyka Golden Knights Jersey , retail and tourism.


"Many industry sectors and particularly those exposed to import competition are experiencing very tough