Australian National University staff will consider industrial action in response to a pay offer by management which the National Tertiary Education Union has described as derisory.
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The union's ANU branch committee will meet on Thursday to "consider the future of what have been, to date, productive negotiations. It will now obviously need to consider the need for industrial action to support the union's claim."
The union on Wednesday rejected outright a management offer of 2 per cent in 2015 on top of a 2 per cent administrative increase delivered to staff last month to soften the blow of 230 administrative staff job losses and new parking fees announced by vice-chancellor Ian Young.
NTEU ACT division secretary Stephen Darwin said "Given it is now over 15 months since our last Agreement expired, this effectively is a derisory 1.5 per cent per year salary increase in the life of the next agreement.
Staff will meet on August 20 to discuss industrial action as a potential next step to the wage claim.
Mr Darwin noted the current (imperfect) Consumer Price Index was running at 2.4 per cent, other universities in this round of bargaining had been offering at least 4 per cent a year over 4 years, and ANU salaries were already lower than most Group of Eight institutions as well as the University of Canberra.
Mr Darwin said staff deserved a much better offer in light of management elevating performance expectations of all staff in the 2020 plan - increasing most indicators by 5 per cent.
Last month's budget cuts to cover a $51 million federal government funding shortfall would mean escalating workloads for remaining staff who would also have to deal with increased student numbers as the ANU sought to expand.
Many staff were also facing increased out-of-pocket expenses to cover parking fee increases.
"Despite the recent rhetoric by ANU management about the effect of university funding reductions, the university remains one of wealthiest universities in the country and is more than able to offer a decent salary increase for staff," Mr Darwin said, pointing to a 15 per cent increase in reserves in the 2012 Annual Report which are now in excess of $1 billion.
"Instead, the managerialist preoccupation of the current vice-chancellor to produce an enormous 'underlying surplus' is preventing the maintenance of decent workloads and now, decent salaries."
He said the union believed the offer was an insult to the professionalism and hard work of ANU staff.
Comment is being sought from ANU management.
