The Australian Tax Commissioner has accused a union of trying to delay a vote on a revised pay deal and assured staff they will be given adequate time to engage in collective bargaining.
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On Monday, the Australian Services Union wrote to the commissioner, Chris Jordan, and accused representatives of breaching good faith by planning a vote during the school holiday period in late April, when much of the 20,000 strong workforce take leave.
ASU tax branch secretary Jeff Lapidos said the union would lodge a complaint with the Fair Work Commission and told members the ATO was trying to deny staff the opportunity to participate in enterprise bargaining.
In a letter to staff, Mr Jordan denied the claims and insisted no voting date had been set. He accused the union of trying to delay a vote on the revised agreement and described their statements as "frustrating and disappointing".
"This is not constructive to progressing towards a vote and is not in the spirit of positive engagement to maturely discuss our proposal through bargaining," he said.
"We are not taking a 'crash or crash through approach' as suggested by the ASU. Quite the contrary, we are simply being transparent about what we think are reasonable and realistic timeframes given the stage we are at in negotiations."
Mr Jordan said staff had voiced their wish to have another vote as soon as possible and bargaining representatives were working to facilitate one.
"We will ensure you have the maximum opportunity to participate in this process – this includes taking into account school holidays timing and facilitating options including online voting for those of you who may be on leave at the time," he said.
Mr Lapidos said the ASU was not trying to delay a vote on the revised offer and maintained any vote should not be held during the school holiday period.
Mr Jordan also told staff he and other tax executives would visit offices across the country in coming weeks to discuss the proposal. Bargaining is set to continue on Wednesday and next week.
Rank-and-file staff rejected an annual pay increase of 2 per cent in December just hours before 200 bosses secured a 3 per cent pay rise.
After consultation with staff, the ATO has announced intentions to drop the demand for staff to work an extra 45 minutes each week and other concessions, aimed at breaking the bargaining impasse.
Staff have reported being "bombarded" with email and video displays in common areas and posters detailing changes to the pay deal.
ATO employees were among staff at 12 other federal departments and agencies who launched 24-hour strike action on Monday in an effort to change the government's bargaining position.
The ASU has already made preliminary steps to prepare for protected industrial action in addition to this week's strikes, which were led by the Community and Public Sector Union.
"Our plan is to encourage members to change the way they work so it results in lower productivity for the commissioner," Mr Lapidos said in an email to members.
"Our industrial action will be effective if we can reduce the ATO's productivity by at least the 2 per cent per annum we are losing through the commissioner's game playing that is designed to remove our rights at work."
