ACT public school teachers rallied in the streets as part of a week of rolling stop-work action. The Australian Education Union ACT says a new pay and conditions offer must be better, or a full-day strike will go ahead in Term 4. Teachers say heavy workloads, classes being combined and a lack of resources are wearing them down. The Education Minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith, said bargaining is progressing well and she hopes to send a further offer to the union within a couple of weeks, so an agreement can go to ballot.
Hobsons Bay council workers rallied in Altona on Tuesday as part of an ongoing industrial campaign led by the Australian Services Union. Members walked off the job from 11.30am to 12.30pm outside the Altona Civic Centre and marched down Pier Street, closing its south bound lane. Another rally is expected on 22 October. The union is in negotiations with eight inner-city councils over a multi-employer enterprise bargaining agreement. It rejects a 2.75 per cent pay offer and is demanding 22 per cent over four years.
Federal public servants are being asked to vote on a 9 per cent pay offer spread over three years. The Australian Public Service Commission proposed rises of 3.2 per cent from March 2027, 3 per cent in 2028 and 2.8 per cent in 2029. Its chief negotiator, Alison Stott, said the increases exceed forecast inflation, and that bargaining is continuing. The Community and Public Sector Union wants 15 per cent over three years, citing inflation of 4 per cent. Its national secretary, Rebecca Fawcett, said the offer falls short and the union's members will decide.
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Public servant unions have vowed to vote down a federal government pay offer of nine per cent over three years. The offer, proposed on Tuesday, is above forecast inflation. Unions say it falls short of their demands, with the Community and Public Sector Union seeking 15 per cent. The Australian Services Union says it will ask the Fair Work Commission to set the pay rise if a better offer is not made, though it has ruled out industrial action. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the offer is fair and affordable, and agencies will fund it from existing budgets.
Staff at the University of Melbourne are striking for 24 hours, followed by a week of industrial action, which will cancel classes this week. The National Tertiary Education Union says unfair workloads and protections against AI are not being addressed in enterprise bargaining. Union members in Queensland held a half-day stop work and rally at Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland and Griffith University. Union officials say talks have dragged on for more than six months without agreement, with Griffith offering no salary increase and UQ's offer falling below inflation.
Victoria's doctors have overwhelmingly rejected the state government's latest offer on pay and conditions and have forecast more strike action. In a ballot, 89 per cent of members of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Victoria voted against the offer. The dispute follows 18 months of failed negotiations over a new enterprise agreement. The federation wants the deal to address unsustainable working hours, fatigue and patient safety. Doctor Travis Lines said there is no set date for the next strike, but it will happen.
