ACMA: still no agreement on pay rise
Negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement for Australian Communications and Media Authority remain gridlocked with members of all unions involved still unwilling to accept the agency’s pay offer.
As reported in earlier E-bulletins, the federal government has allowed some small lifting of the ceiling it has imposed on Commonwealth employees’ wage rises, but it has not been enough to convince those either in ACMA or in a number of government departments to pick up an offer.
In the case of ACMA, the offer is a 6% wage rise over 3 years (2.5%, 2%, 1.5%). CWU and other union members say this amounts to a pay freeze, considering that they have had no wage rise for nearly two years.
In line with government policy, the offer contains no back pay.
Members also point out that they have already “earned” more than is being offered through productivity growth over the last 2 years as over this period they have been picking up the work of people who have left the agency and not been replaced.
Another meeting is scheduled for 14 December, with it now appearing unlikely that any agreement will go to ballot until the New Year.
