Wage negotiations loom as a major hurdle for some of the country’s biggest retail and banking companies in the coming year, sparking calls for union restraint over pay claims.

An analysis of government data reveals agreements covering more than 800,000 workers are up for negotiation this year. Once deals that are still under negotiation are added, the conditions for more than a million Australians are due to be settled this year. Effectively, the only time when industrial action is permitted under the workplace laws is during the pay talks, meaning the negotiations are a delicate issue for businesses to manage.