As the business suits gathered at the Reserve Bank of Australia this week to decide keep rates on hold, their predictable message was an insult to every working Australian.

The RBA said, we haven’t yet controlled inflation, the labour market is too “tight” and wage restraint is essential; we say that is a business instruction to keep labour cheap and profits high.

For the past decade, they have demanded our sacrifice. We’ve delivered the goods, worked harder for stagnant pa, only to watch the cost of housing, groceries, utilities and petrol climb without mercy.

The people making these high-stakes decisions do not share our lived experiences of having to skip a meal or work a double shift just to afford bills and rent. And we know too well that when workers aren’t at the table, we become the menu.

Across every sector, the story is the same – our real wages are falling.

Despite every hard-won union gain, our pay packets buy less than they did before the pandemic. We are losing ground every single day to a cost-of-living crisis manufactured by greed.

While we fight for every dollar, the RBA keeps interest rates high presiding over a massive transfer of wealth from struggling households straight to big banks and corporations. They want us to believe they’re taming inflation, but what they are really doing is shielding corporate profits, which are sitting near record highs.

Any honest look at the data shows the truth. This is not a wage spiral, it’s profit-fuelled inflation.

Businesses are abusing their pricing power, raising prices faster than their costs to extract maximum profit under the cover of inflation. We can see the blame being shifted and we reject that we should pay for it.

The most dishonest argument that will be run is that our wages must be tied to productivity.

We know the truth. For more than 20 years we have delivered productivity growth that has gone straight into profits, not our pockets.

Productivity is delivered through investment decisions by management – better machines, technology, tools and training. Yet, too many companies are on a “capital strike”, hoarding billions instead of reinvesting.

These policies fuel burnout, stress and risk. Workers keep the economy running and they cannot afford to break us. We must be respected for the value we create.

These lingering anti-worker views are not innocent errors, they are the direct result of who runs the show.

The RBA’s board is stacked with bankers and CEOs. Workers’ voices, our union strengths and our lived experience are absent. Decisions are shaped by wealth, not reality.

The independent review of the RBA in 2022 confirmed our demand for a dedicated workers’ representative was reasonable and justified. This reform has not yet been delivered and the urgency is increasing for it be implemented.

A strong union voice on that board is not just about fairness, it is about power. It will guarantee that the RBA focuses on its full mandate – full employment and the economic welfare of the Australian people – not just corporate protection.

Workers have made the sacrifices. We have built the profits. Now, we are rightly demanding our fair share.

Decent wage rises are affordable, justified and essential. We are united in the knowledge that the economy does not run without us.

Its time for a workers’ voice at the table, and an economy that works for every single worker.

Steve Murphy is national secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union