I really enjoy my job.
I've been there for a while and have had a significant increase in responsibility both in terms of work load, direct reports and also contributed to top line revenue growth and bottom line improvement.
How do you ask for a salary increase?
My boss knows my achievements. I hate asking he has been promising an increase for about 18 months.
I've never had to ask for increases before.
What responsibility does the government have to ensure your employer pays you what you want? It's a private contract. If you don't like the terms, find another job.
The best thing the government can do for your wages is nothing - stay out of the way, let companies operate with minimal regulations so they can make decisions from a financial point of view rather than legal ones. Companies don't want to pay more because they already have to hire incompetent people who fill a certain skin colour/gender/disability quota, plus spent $X million on pretending to save the environment, then anyone so much as stumps their toe at the office the employer is buried in compo and legal bills.
Your wages are already high - a lot of the money is just tied up in other schemes and benefits that you will probably never see. Don't blame the company.