Wendi Deng

The latest figures confirm what many people have long known:

REAL pay has gone backwards under the Howard Government's new wage setting system, with some workers on award pay rates now more than $15 a week worse off in the past 12 months.

Recent higher inflation has overtaken the modest pay rises handed out by the Australian Fair Pay Commission last month, pushing most of the 1 million workers covered by award rates into the red, according to new figures.

The commission confirmed the figures yesterday, saying it had relied on Reserve Bank inflation forecasts, which were too low.

Meanwhile, the CEO of a company branded the worst price-fixing cartel in Australian history is a close friend who Howard invites around for dinner.