Unions will push for a 5 per cent increase to the minimum wage for more than 2.9 million workers, while employers will demand a major pay slowdown to offset record increases that “overcompensated” for inflation.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions announced it will call on the Fair Work Commission to lift the national minimum wage from $23.23 to $24.39 an hour this year and the full-time annual rate by $2295 to $48,200.