for low wages growth@ (Repeating story to additional subscribers) * Q1 annual economic growth 3.1 pct, fastest in near 2 years * But per capita measure expanded at only half that rate * Wage growth near record lows, consumer sentiment weak * Some experts blame labor de-unionization for low pay rises * Rise of part-time jobs, gig economy other reasons SYDNEY, June 18 (Reuters) – After a record 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth, Australian workers should be sitting pretty. They arent. Their annual wage increases are, by some measures, lagging inflation, job security is an issue, and at least one survey shows their sense of overall wellbeing is at an all-time low. Many policymakers and mainstream bank economists puzzle over the reasons for all this. They point to Australias transition to more of a services economy, the impact of disruptive technologies, the lack of productivity growth, and the increase in the number of part-time and temporary jobs as among reasons. But some labor experts have a better explanation: a plunge in trade union membership in Australia to less than 15 percent of the workforce now from more than 40 percent in 1991, much greater than declines in other industrialized countries. They say that has allowed employers to dictate the size of wage rises without challenge. “Unionization has collapsed far more violently in Australia than virtually anywhere in other developed, rich countries,” said Josh Bornstein, Melbourne-based employment lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, who often represents workers in litigation. “Unions have been disempowered and that is bad for wage outcomes,” he added. The contrast between stellar growth the nations economy expanded at a 3.1 percent annual rate last quarter to outpace the United States, Europe and Japan and the lot of ordinary Australians is a major concern for policymakers. It poses a big political challenge for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who has been flagging in polls for more than two years now, and who will probably hold a general election by next May. Average annual compensation per employee crawled up by 1.6 percent last quarter, below the inflation rate of 1.9 percent, as companies took a large slice of the income pie with operating profits surging to a record. A separate measure released in May showed the wage price index, which follows price changes in a fixed basket of jobs, rose 2.1 percent last quarter. To be sure, low wage growth is a global phenomenon but it was exacerbated in the United States and Europe by big job losses in the 2008/09 financial crisis. By contrast, on the back of commodities demand from China, Australia grew through that period. The weak wages growth could eventually undermine an economy that has done better than those of just about every other major nation in the western world over the past quarter century. Household spending contributes 57 percent of Australias GDP, and if people are feeling squeezed then it wont take much for them to postpone that purchase of a big ticket item, such as a…