Following the recent release of the Government’s bargaining policy, the Staff Association has called on Executive to get moving and formally commence the negotiation process for a new CSIRO Enterprise Agreement.
However, with less than five months until the nominal expiry date of the current deal, there has been feedback that CSIRO’s response to the new bargaining rules has resulted in confusion. Concerns are growing with CSIRO’s minimal engagement with staff on any choices regarding key bargaining processes and that it is compromised by Executive’s closed process on how they will proceed.
By contrast, the union’s democratic, engaged and informed approach continues, with Staff Association organisers set to begin a series of workplace briefings on the new policy and the implications for bargaining processes at CSIRO.
“Staff Association members are seeking to commence bargaining as soon as possible to ensure negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) proceed without delay… we’re concerned that CSIRO’s preferred start time of late September to begin negotiations up to the current EA nominal expiry date may compromise the best interests of CSIRO members and staff. This will likely leave members with a compressed timeframe that lacks continuity over December and January,” Staff Association Secretary Susan Tonks said.
“To support a more efficient process, we propose that bargaining should begin earlier, starting with non-financial matters, as occurred in the last round of bargaining in 2023. The Staff Association notes that there is nothing in the Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy 2026 preventing the issuing of the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) and non-Australian Public Service (non-APS) agencies are encouraged to commence bargaining ahead of their nominal expiry date.”
“Accordingly, the Staff Association requests CSIRO’s agreement to initiate bargaining and to issue the NERR at the earliest opportunity,” Ms Tonks said.
With the Australian Public Service (APS) NERR expected to be released imminently, followed by the commencement of APS Service Wide Bargaining there should not be any extended delays to getting formal negotiations started at CSIRO.
In response, Executive bargaining representatives reiterated that to comply with the new bargaining rules, the organisation is required to delay the commencement of any new agreement until March 2026, some four and a half months beyond the nominal expiry of the current deal.
“CSIRO has a choice for the commencement date for a new agreement to be either 6 or 12 months after the nominal expiry date of the current agreement, being 17 November 2026. This means a new CSIRO agreement would commence either in May or November next year.”
“To mitigate the impact of the delayed commencement date, an interim pay rise will occur in November this year delivered via a determination… the percentage of this increase has yet to be advised by the Government.”
“CSIRO will need to decide between the 6 and 12-month options once the interim pay rise is known, including whether any top-up may apply if Australian Public Service (APS) bargaining results in an increase above the interim amount. This will allow a thorough assessment of the best outcome for staff.”
“CSIRO therefore believes it is in the best interests of our staff and the agreement negotiation process, that bargaining does not start until later this year – no earlier than September.”
“In the immediate future, we will focus on the choice for a deferred agreement commencement after the interim increase percentage is known, followed by putting the arrangements for the November interim pay rise in place as soon as possible,” Executive bargaining representatives said.
Meanwhile, the early workplace reviews of Executive’s response to the bargaining policy have been decidedly one-star.
Union organisers are receiving reports from staff expressing confusion about how negotiations at CSIRO are set to proceed and some unease over how a lack of certainty from Executive may affect pay and remuneration in high inflation environment beset by persistent cost of living pressure.
There are also concerns that CSIRO Executive are adopting a high-handed approach to the upcoming determination issue, by failing to outline any mechanism to involve the views of staff in the decision-making process, arguably denying employee agency and choice.
Elsewhere, Staff Association organisers will conduct a series of workplace briefings on the new bargaining rules, providing an opportunity for employees to seek information and have their say on upcoming CSIRO negotiations.
It’s the latest component of the Staff Association’s bargaining campaign and follows a democratic claim endorsement process earlier this year that set out the union’s starting point for negotiations.
The claim itself was developed following an early priorities poll and a comprehensive member survey, both conducted late last year, involving more than 1,650 unique contributions from CSIRO employees on bargaining priorities and preferences.