Australia's quarantine system looks set to be hit by industrial action by Agriculture Department public servants as the workplace unrest in the federal bureaucracy spreads.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And the work of the nation's network of weather stations is also likely to be disrupted as the Bureau of Meteorology technicians who service the equipment prepare to enforce work bans.
Industrial action in Agriculture could hit passenger movement at airports and ports, cargo inspections, meat inspections, international mail processing and other services, the main workplace union says.
But the department says it has plans in place to continue its work even in the event of strike action by its officials.
Public servants at the department, already reeling from the sacking of their popular boss this month, will begin a program of rolling stoppages within 10 days aimed at forcing their employer to the bargaining table.
Members of the public sector union, the CPSU, have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in an effort to force Agriculture to make an offer for a new pay deal, almost nine months after the previous enterprise agreement expired.
But while the vote was under way, the department made its offer, a pay increase of less than 0.6 per cent a year and the loss of penalty rates and allowances, which the union says will reduce the wages of "frontline" workers at air and sea ports.
The deal is also conditional on the loss of another 42 jobs at the department, which lost more than 12 per cent of its permanent workers in 2014, reducing numbers to 4093
Do you know more? Send confidential tips to ps@canberratimes.com.au
The trouble at Agriculture will be compounded by the absence of a Departmental Secretary after Paul Grimes was sacked by the minister in charge Barnaby Joyce, and it is unclear when a successor will be appointed.
CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said the "last-minute" wage offer was a cut to real wages, entitlements and conditions.
"Biosecurity officers are on the frontline every day monitoring what's coming in and out of the country, protecting the food we eat and the goods that we export," Ms Flood said.
"They ensure Australia's multibillion agriculture industry is free from infestations, disease and plagues.
"These people do tough dirty work and the government proposes to reward them by cutting their take-home pay, cutting jobs and attacking their conditions."
A departmental spokesperson said Agriculture would be able to cope with any industrial action.
"The department has arrangements in place to continue to deliver services to our clients on a risk-managed basis in the event of any action being taken," the spokesperson said.
"The department will advise our clients and the community if they are likely to be affected by any disruption to our business."
Meantime, dozens of technicians who work on the Bureau of Meteorology's network of weather stations are also set to walk off the job after they, too, lost patience with the lack of an offer on wages and conditions.
The members of the Electrical Trades Union have secured permission for a protected action ballot with the union predicting the technicians will vote for stoppages.
The Canberra Times understands that the other unions at the Bureau, the CPSU, Professionals Australia and the AMWU, are also talking about industrial action.
A BOM spokeswoman said the Bureau was "disappointed" the ETU was pursuing industrial action but said it was confident it could minimise disruptions to essential services.
