The Coalition government has ordered public service bosses not to compromise with their workforces in the disputes over pay and conditions that have entered their third year.
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Departmental secretaries and agency heads were told late on Wednesday that the re-elected Turnbull government would seek to impose the conditions of the Abbott-era Public Sector Bargaining Policy, which have been rejected by about two-thirds of the Australian Public Service's 150,000-strong workforce.
Wednesday's edict by public service minister Michaelia Cash ends a period of confusion with departmental bosses stalling on negotiations, pleading they had not been given a policy lead from their political bosses.
But Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd confirmed on Thursday that departmental secretaries were advised within an hour of Senator Cash's press release on Wednesday, with the Commissioner insisting there was "no confusion in this matter."
"The 2015 Workplace Bargaining Policy remains unchanged," the minister said.
"Agencies will continue to be able to offer wage increases averaging up to 2 per cent per annum, with costs to be met within existing budgets."
The ban on back-pay, for workers who last had a pay rise in 2013, and the insistence on funding pay rises through "productivities" remains.
The minister added that the Public Service Commission had given its stamp of approval to a new batch of agreements which would be soon put to workplace ballots, but did not say which agencies or departments would be voting.
The announcement comes against a background of more strikes at international airports and other sites by Border Force, Immigration and Agriculture officials and another attempt by the main public service union, the CPSU, to secure orders against Senator Cash in the Fair Work Commission over her conduct of the dispute.
Australian Taxation Office negotiators got the message from Mr Lloyd while in the midst of a two day bargaining session with union, but the resolution came too late for any progress to be a made.
The Australian Service's Union's Jeff Lapidos, who was present at the talks, greeted the news with dismay.
"The Prime Minister has lost an important opportunity to support the public service by allowing us to negotiate fair and reasonable Enterprise Agreements," the union official said.
