The two unions representing ABC staff are close to confirming a pay deal with managing director Hugh Marks, a development that would end industrial action, which led to the first strike at the ABC in 20 years, after a session mediated by the Fair Work Commission on Monday.
The improved offer includes a 10.5 per cent pay rise over three years, including a 4 per cent increase in the first year, back paid to October 1, 2025.
The improved proposal, up from the previous offer of a 3.5 per cent pay rise in the first year and 10 per cent over three years, takes the initial pay rise ahead of current inflation figures.
The unions and the ABC’s chief people officer, Deena Amorelli, announced the new offer to staff on Tuesday afternoon. Amorelli said the position had been “endorsed by all bargaining representatives, including union delegates from both the CPSU and MEAA”.
Although the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) has not formally endorsed the offer, representatives said their delegates would recommend members accept the offer. Delegates from the Community and Public Sector Union’s (CPSU) bargaining committee said they had unanimously endorsed the offer to their members.
It is uncommon for union members to collectively reject an offer that their bargaining delegates have recommended they accept. Both unions will meet members this week to discuss and then vote on the revised offer.
The offer also includes improvements to automatic pay progression for staff at the ABC, as well as improvements to leave entitlements.
Marks told this masthead the agreement on pay progression was the first step in a longer exercise of showing people who joined the ABC how they could succeed and grow, but that there was “a lot more work to do over time”.
“I’m pleased that everyone approached the day with the right spirit, and I thought the commissioner did an excellent job,” he said.
The MEAA bargaining team considered the updated offer a “huge improvement”, its federal president and ABC journalist Michael Slezak said.
“It’s not everything we asked for, but it addresses structural problems at the ABC that staff and union members have been complaining about for years,” he said.
“It doesn’t go as far as we would like, but we think it will make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of ABC employees. Whether or not members will endorse, it is up to them.”
The CPSU’s ABC section secretary, Jocelyn Gammie, said the improvements represented a “major win”, and that it only happened because members stood together and refused to settle for less, while telling members its bargaining committee unanimously endorsed the offer.
“When we act collectively, the ABC has no choice but to listen,” Gammie told members.
The offer comes less than a week after about 2000 union members walked off the job after rejecting the ABC’s previous pay deal, shutting down many of its broadcast and digital services for 24 hours.
A deal will avoid future strike action from ABC staff. The MEAA asked its members what future industrial action they would consider at the weekend, including stop-work action for as long as a week during the federal budget in May.
This article by Calum Jaspan was originally published by The Age.