Australians could be without weather updates in their local media from Thursday as public servants at the Bureau of Meteorology prepare to take strike action.
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Community and Public Sector Union members will begin a three-week campaign of industrial action as they seek better pay and conditions.
The campaign will see rolling strike actions, including restrictions on answering the phone and handling media inquiries.
Bureau employees will continue to provide weather forecasting services.
CPSU deputy secretary Beth Vincent-Pietsch said staff at the bureau had gone more than three years without a pay rise.
"Bureau of Meteorology staff have been forced into this situation by their bosses, who continue to push harsh and unreasonable cuts to rights and conditions," she said.
"Disturbingly, management have particularly targeted people on the frontline working shifts and in remote locations."
"BOM staff have gone well over three years without a pay rise as this dispute has dragged on through no fault of their own.
"Despite such a long fight they've made it clear that what management's pushing is unacceptable by voting twice to reject unacceptable enterprise agreement proposals, most recently in May with a 58 per cent 'no' vote."
Bureau staff will be able to choose when to strike from July 20 until August 9, between the hours of 7am and 10:30am and 4pm and 7pm.
Ms Vincent-Pietsch said the target of the industrial action was bureau management, and not the general public.
"This situation in BOM stands in stark contrast to that in many other Commonwealth agencies, with enterprise agreements voted up in recent months in major agencies including Defence, Agriculture, the Tax Office, CSIRO and Prime Minister and Cabinet.
"BOM needs to follow the lead set by these others and recognise that protecting existing rights and conditions is a key concern for staff," she said.
The bureau has staffed offices around Australia and more than 1450 fulltime public service employees.
In a statement posted online, the bureau said it would "continue to deliver timely forecasts and warnings during the period of protected industrial action".
"The bureau has robust procedures and practices in place to ensure services essential for the safety and security of the Australian public will continue," the statement said.
"Bureau management and bargaining representatives are resuming discussions on areas of concern with the current draft enterprise agreement."
