APSC proposes salary boost for lowest paid agencies in APS-wide bargaining

The commission on Tuesday tabled its proposal to address pay disparities of up to $60,000 between staff at different government agencies, a trend which has emerged over more than a decade of single agency bargaining.

Agencies with more bargaining power, such as the central agencies, have negotiated better pay for their staff, leaving behind agencies which are often staffed mostly by women and First Nations employees.

The proposed model, tabled in ongoing pay and conditions negotiations between the commission, agencies and unions, would reduce average fragmentation from 26 per cent to 18 per cent.

Employees whose wages are below the minimum salaries set by the public service commission would receive a pay rise in addition to the APS-wide boost to be decided in negotiations, benefiting 48 APS agencies in this round of negotiations.

It would see pay rises for most classifications at some of the lowest paid agencies, including the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Aboriginal Hostels Limited and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Under the proposal, no salaries will go backwards or be frozen, the commission says.

But CPSU National Secretary Melissa Donnelly slammed the proposal for "lacking ambition".

"The proposal tabled today by the APSC lacks ambition and does not go enough to achieve real progress on pay equity in this bargaining round," Ms Donnelly said in a statement.

"The proposed new minimums are still unacceptably low and only a handful of agencies would be affected at each classification level."

"The APSC can and should go further in all aspects of their pay equity proposal."

The boosts will be on top of a three-year pay increase across the APS, which the government has offered at 10.5 per cent. It is roughly half what the main public sector union has asked for, with the Community and Public Sector Union putting in a claim of 20 per cent.

The commission's chief negotiator, Peter Riordan, will still consider claims on pay fragmentation from unions.

Mr Riordan said this proposal would be a meaningful first step in a long process to resolve pay disparities.

"Pay fragmentation that has emerged over decades affects employee attraction, retention and mobility. It will take time to address this," he said in a statement.

"We're confident this proposed approach takes an important and meaningful first step."

"The proposed approach would lift the salaries of a range of employees across the Service, including those in our cultural institutions, and delivering vital services to First Nations communities."

The commission wants to wrap up APS-wide pay and conditions negotiations for the next three years by July 31, with the next round of bargaining comprising agency-level talks.

The commission expects most enterprise agreements will be operational before the end of March 2024, with some finalised by the end of 2023.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.