Tasmania: paradise for unions. Pity the wages I don't think this is a coincidence: New figures show that 26 per cent of workers in Tasmania belong to a trade union, well above the national average of 18 per cent. But Tasmanian wages are the lowest in the country, with average weekly earnings at $1283 - compared with the national average of $1487... The state with the highest average weekly earnings is Western Australia at $1785. That state also has the lowest union membership at 14 per cent. Reader TassieRooster notes: Obviously our high proportion of public servants account for this as only 13% of non-government employees here are in a union.