The Turnbull government escaped political humiliation at the hands of its own staffers on Friday by the narrowest of margins, but might not have heard the last of the revolt by its own political advisors.
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The office staff of MPs and senators voted to accept a new pay and conditions deal, offered under the Coalition's hardline public sector bargaining policy, by just 15 votes or 0.53 per cent.
But the government might not be out of the woods just yet, with one union gathering evidence for a potential challenge to the ballot result.
Staffers and unions have complained about the "intense pressure" brought to bear on government staffers to toe the party line and accept a deal that many thought was unfair.
Security guards, deployed by House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Stephen Parry, marched a group of public servants from a Parliament House staff canteen last week as they tried to campaign for a no-vote, and the United Services Union is alleging that some eligible staff were blocked from casting ballots.
With Labor and Greens staffers pledging to vote no in a bloc, the knife-edge result indicates that some government staffers made good on the threats they made last week and were prepared to risk political embarrassment for their bosses.
But in the wake of the vote, resentment remains among many of the government's political advisors, reflecting the deep divisions within the Liberal National ranks.
One workplace union, the United Services Union, is gathering evidence for a potential challenge to the vote, with the ultimate goal of having the ballot run again, saying it is worried some workers were denied the right to vote while others may have been subject to undue political pressure.
The last-minute inclusion of hundreds of casual workers as eligible voters is also suspect, according to the union.
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Of the 1413 votes cast, there were 714 yes votes and 699 no votes.
The Coalition remains locked in bitter industrial disputes across the public service with nearly 100,000 Commonwealth workers still without new enterprise agreement after repeatedly refusing to accept the tough terms of the bargaining policy.
The staffers were offered 2 per cent per year, in line with what is on offer across the public service, and a pledge of "no loss of conditions" but with 30 minutes added to their working day, a change dismissed as meaningless by advisors who typically work up to 80 hours a week.
But the deal offers no back pay, which means an effective pay freeze and there is no change to the staffer's increment system, regarded by many as outdated and unfair.
CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood noted the close vote meant a significant number of government staffers had rejected their bosses' policies.
"This result clearly suggests that a significant number of Liberal and National political staffers voted no, despite being under intense pressure not to embarrass the Turnbull government," the union leader said.
"They voted no because this is another ugly agreement that strips rights and conditions and extends the supposed working hours while offering not one dollar for the delays caused by government's bargaining policy."
