CPSU rejects APSC 10.5 per cent pay offer, applies to Fair Work Commission for Services Australia protected action ballot

The government's pay offer would provide a 4 per cent increase in the first year, 3.5 per cent in the second year and 3 per cent in the third year. It is roughly half of the 20 per cent increase the Community and Public Sector Union called for, which included a 9 per cent hike in the first year of the new agreement.

CPSU members were given two weeks to vote on the offer tabled by the commission, and on Wednesday the union revealed 86 per cent of the 15,000 who did had rejected it.

"My HECS/HELP debt got indexed at a higher rate than [this]," one respondent said by way of explanation.

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the CPSU also revealed it had applied to the Fair Work Commission for a protected action ballot in Services Australia.

If approved, CPSU staff within Services Australia could vote on taking protected industrial action.

The union will take the outcome of the ballot to talks with the Australian Public Service Commission on Thursday, where it will attempt to negotiate a better pay outcome.

"This decision has not been taken lightly," national secretary Melissa Donnelly said.

"This is a strategic decision that puts our members in a position where they can increase pressure on the APSC and the federal government to deliver better outcomes in bargaining if necessary."

Services Australia's average staffing level will drop by 1800 this financial year.

The government says this is a return to pre-pandemic staffing levels, but Ms Donnelly has previously said staffing numbers at the agency are "heading in the wrong direction".

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The CPSU national secretary said the pay offer vote made it "abundantly clear" that APS employees want more.

"Given the decade-long attack on APS employees' wages and conditions and the skyrocketing cost of living, it is abundantly clear that APS employees are looking for something better," she said.

"From the outset, CPSU members have been clear that they want a fair deal and they want it delivered on time.

"They want to see the government bring a pay rise to the table that acknowledges what our members endured over the past decade, one that takes steps to address the attraction and retention crisis, and one that will go some way in easing current financial pressures.

"Our members have clearly communicated that a 10.5 per cent pay offer achieves none of those goals," Ms Donnelly said.

The main public sector union's pay claim called for a 9 per cent increase in the first year, 6 per cent in year two and 5 per cent in the third year.

The public service commission is aiming to wrap up APS-wide pay and conditions bargaining for the next three years by July 31, before single agency bargaining begins.

Most enterprise agreements will be operational before the end of March 2024.

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