CSIRO staff have identified pay and job security as the most important priorities for the upcoming enterprise bargaining round.
Staff Association members recently participated in a national series of workplace meetings to review the results from the union’s bargaining survey.
While the current enterprise agreement due to expire in mid-November 2026, CSIRO Executive have indicated that negotiations for a replacement deal are likely to commence in March.
Staff Association representatives are in the process of developing the union’s bargaining claim, which will be released for member consideration and endorsement in February.
The bargaining survey was conducted in October and received nearly eight hundred and fifty (837) responses from Staff Association members.
Taken together with September’s snap poll (827 participants) that’s more than 1,650 unique contributions from CSIRO employees on bargaining priorities and preferences for the upcoming campaign.
Overall, the survey results put CSIRO pay as the top issue, followed by job security, then workloads and conditions.
Rights and conditions
- Backpay: bargaining should run on time, however, if negotiations run beyond the nominal expiry date of the current agreement any replacement deal must include back pay… AGREE 97.1%
- Rights: the following rights secured in the (current agreement) should be protected and maintained: Genuine consultation; Representational rights; Dispute resolution processes… AGREE 96.9%
- Leave: employees should receive support, including workplace adjustments, and paid leave without needing to exhaust personal leave, in the following circumstances (disability 75%, reproductive 59%, gender affirmation 41%).
- Leave: increase the minimum period of approved sick and carers leave without evidence (health practitioner certificate etc) to five consecutive days… AGREE 65.5%
- Allowances: please choose from the following statements (allowances should stay the same 19.6%, increase with pay rise 52.1%, substantial extra increase 28.4%).
- Allowances: allow double payment of relevant allowances when an individual staff member holds multiple extra responsibility roles – such as First Aid Officer, Health and Safety Representatives… AGREE 51.4%
- Allowances: employees should be able to access a Health and Wellbeing allowance, paid annually, to offset costs incurred by staff for expenses that assist in achieving a healthy lifestyle… AGREE 51.9%
- Overtime: staff classified at CSOF Level 5 and above are restricted from earning overtime (OT) payments, for the authorised performance of work outside usual hours. Please select from the following statements: (don’t change 15.5%, approve OT for all employees 20.4%, allow CSOF5 to request TOIL 64.1%).
- Executive accountability: the agreement must be enhanced to encourage CSIRO Executive to engage in honest communication, maximum transparency and improved accountability, especially when engaged in major organisational changes… AGREE 90.7%
- Artificial Intelligence: AI must be deployed cautiously in management decisions and processes with strong protections for workers, consultation at the earliest possible stage, and humans retaining responsibility for decision-making… AGREE 87.5%
Safe workloads
- Workloads: the enterprise agreement should reflect my legal right to disconnect after hours… AGREE 82.0%
- Workloads: appropriate workloads should be determined with reference to staffing levels and the enterprise agreement should include stronger rights for employees to review unsafe work levels or practices… AGREE 88.8%
- Workloads: in order to attract and retain employees, and to support greater work/life balance, CSIRO should examine options such as: A 4-day work week pilot or additional annual leave… AGREE 68.8%
Job security and careers
- Classification: do you support the commencement of a review of the CSIRO Classification system (including pay scales) during the life of the next Enterprise Agreement? YES 59.9%
- Job security and careers: all forms of insecure work should be reduced and there should be clear and fair processes to support the conversion of casual and specified term employment roles into secure, ongoing roles… AGREE 77.2%
- Job security and careers: CSIRO should work with the union to take all available steps to reduce job losses as a result of restructures, including strong redundancy, redeployment, and retention provisions… AGREE 87.6%
- Job security and careers: should the working conditions for specified term staff be improved, including stronger rights to have contracts renewed and better overall pathways to permanent work? YES 73.6%
- Job security and careers: the agreement should include new provisions encouraging career progression based on fairness and merit, operating on a level playing field, including advancement within and promotion beyond an employees’ CSOF level… YES 81.3%
- Secondments: staff seconded to perform at higher levels of classification for a set period of 12 months or more should receive formal recognition and retention of that higher classification… YES 59.5%
- CERCs: CSIRO needs to implement new processes to retain talent and ensure CSIRO Early Research Career/Postdocs can access a viable career path… YES 72.6%
Pay and super
- Superannuation: the employer contribution to accumulation funds should be increased from 15.4% to 17%, no matter the employee’s choice of fund… AGREE 76.2%
- Superannuation: should be paid on all periods of parental leave, including unpaid parental leave, regardless of fund… AGREE 58.6%
- Pay increase: where there is a sharp increase in inflation in any year of the agreement, employees should receive a cost-of-living allowance to ensure employees are able to manage the unexpected increases… AGREE 66.6%
- Pay increase: please rank your motives in seeking a decent pay rise at CSIRO (cost of living 69.3%, narrow the gap with research sector 65.2%, attract and retain talent 66.2%)
- Pay increase: please select your preferred pay outcome over three years (4 per cent 32.2%, 5 per cent 24.7%, 6 per cent 32.9%)
Next steps
No later than 14 days after the bargaining process for the new enterprise agreement begins, CSIRO must issue a Notice of employee representational rights (NERR), which advises staff about their rights, including the right to have a representative during the bargaining process. If you’re a Staff Association member, you’re already represented in negotiations by the union.
The development of the Staff Association’s bargaining claim – our starting point for negotiations – is under way. Following final approval from the union’s Section Council in February, national workplace meetings will be held for members to consider, discuss and endorse the claim.
The Staff Association is ready to commence preliminary negotiations. We want to see bargaining start promptly in the new year, so that negotiated outcomes are achieved without delay.
CSIRO Executive have indicated that formal negotiations are likely to commence in March 2026.
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