Peppa Pig has been dragged into the row between the Coalition government and the ABC over its new pay and conditions deal as Treasurer Scott Morrison tried to pile more pressure on the broadcaster's management on Monday.
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Mr Morrison accused ABC bosses of using Peppa, the popular British-produced cartoon character, as a bargaining chip whenever the public broadcaster was asked to save money.
The Treasurer also told Sydney radio that the ABC was out of line in agreeing a deal with its 5000 workers that breaches the terms and conditions of the Coalition's hardline public sector bargaining framework.
But the government appears powerless to stop the corporation and its workforce finalising the enterprise agreement which includes a $500 sign-on bonus, increased parental leave and a new provision for domestic violence leave, conditions that are expressly banned or have been ruled out under the framework.
Ministers were reportedly "infuriated" when ABC chairman Jim Spigelman rejected their demands that his organisation consider itself bound by the framework, with Mr Spigelman asserting the broadcaster's statutory independence.
The ABC settled its new three-year enterprise agreement in less than six months, in sharp contrast to some Australian Public Service departments, which are indisputably bound by the policy, where bitter workplace disputes are still raging well into their third year.
But in his radio interview on Monday, Mr Morrison backed up the claim by Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd that the ABC was bound by the framework, which is a policy direction, not legislation or even regulation.
"The Public Service Commissioner has told the ABC that this is not consistent with the Commonwealth government's negotiating arrangements on these issues," Mr Morrison told radio host Ray Hadley.
"What I find strange about this is that every time we tell the ABC to tighten its belt they say that Peppa Pig has got to go off air, but when it comes to these sorts of arrangements they seem to be able to find the money," Mr Morrison told Ray Hadley on 2GB radio on Monday.
"I find that passing strange and all government agencies need to work within the guidelines set down by the Commonwealth.
"The SBS complies with these rules so why the ABC would think that they're on some other wicket is puzzling to me."
ABC staffers, speaking on condition of anonymity, are furious about Mr Lloyd's attempt to intervene which they describe as "out-of-line".
They point to the broadcaster's enabling legislation, The ABC Act which states:
"The terms and conditions of employment shall be determined by the corporation."
The act also states that the ABC board must "consider" a policy statement supplied by its minister, and the broadcaster has argued publicly that it gave due consideration to the terms of the bargaining framework.
The corporation says it has won big concessions with the "removal of significant restrictive practices, which will result in productivity gains including streamlining of performance management, recruitment and dispute resolution processes and the casual call-out process".
Meantime, the Public Service Commission is celebrating a new agreement, developed under the framework, for about 70 public servants at Cancer Australia.
Acting commissioner Stephanie Foster said the vote to accept the deal at the micro-agency, by a margin of about 90 per cent, was another victory for the bargaining policy.
"Seventy new enterprise agreements have been accepted by employees during this bargaining round," Ms Foster said.
"These new agreements provide modest and responsible pay rises backed by productivity gains, and retain valued terms and conditions."
