ABC given deadline to avoid strike action in wage negotiations

Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s executives are facing pressure to improve wages by up to 6 per cent per annum or risk strike action after the national broadcaster announced it had received an $84 million boost in funding at last week’s federal budget.

Union members gave the ABC until last Friday to decide whether to improve its existing offer to employees, which includes a 3 per cent annual increase in wages. Multiple media sources familiar with the negotiations, who spoke anonymously because talks are confidential, said that date has been pushed to Wednesday, but employees are not anticipating an improvement from management and are already preparing to vote for industrial action.

ABC staff gave management a shortened list of demands last week.

Cassie Derrick, director of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance’s Media section, said the current offer did not address the “systemic problems” and the ABC.

“Management must conduct a rigorous, transparent audit into gender and racial pay gaps and set a target for workplace diversity to match the diversity in the Australian public,” Derrick said. “Our members have told management that it must come back with an improved offer this week, or we will begin taking steps towards protected industrial action.”

The national broadcaster received an $83.7 million increase in operational funding and a $32 million boost for international services as part of the federal government’s budget announcement last week. The government is also moving from a three-year funding model to a five-year period.

ABC managing director David Anderson said that extra money would be used to improve investment in local programming, emergency broadcast services, which have been crucial over the past few years with floods and bushfires across Australia, and coverage in the Pacific region.

But the funding boost has coincided with negotiations between ABC management and the media union over a new enterprise agreement.

The ABC staff’s most recent request was for a 6 per cent wage increase annually for three years and 15.4 per cent in superannuation. Journalists also asked for automatic progression each year, flexible working arrangements and a racial and gender pay gap audit, all which have been rejected by the broadcaster. The ABC has agreed to overtime measures and provisions for families. Sources close to management said any increase in wages would impact this investment and could lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs.

The union gave ABC management until last Friday to improve the offer and provided a smaller list of demands which it asked to be met to avoid industrial action. These include an improved wage offer (beyond the 3 per cent on the table), an ability to be paid at a higher-level if you are required to work in that position on a shift and a commitment to a gender and racial pay gap audit, which would need to be published. The list also includes a solution for the absence of buyouts, a system which previously gave staff a higher fixed base salary instead of allowances and penalty rates for overtime.

It is arguing that if ABC executives could receive pay rises in the last financial year, so should the staff.

Posters inside the ABC’s Ultimo headquarters.

In a letter to union members last week, the ABC said the budget increase had allowed for its revised offer. “It’s important for you to know how the ABC’s wage increase offer is being funded. The offer is 3 per cent per annum across three years, which the ABC can afford within its fixed funding envelope without impacting staff or content,” an email to staff said.

“This offer has been funded by 2 per cent originally allocated in the ABC’s budget, based on the anticipated increase before the current spike in inflation, with the remaining 1 per cent coming from the funding increase once the acceleration in the rate of inflation became evident.”

“The wage increase offer has been made in good faith, with consideration to the cost-of-living pressures we are all facing, against the constraint of the ABC’s fixed cost budget.”

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