CPSU declares APS pay fight over as members accept deal

The Community and Public Sector Union recommended federal public servants accept the Public Service Commission's third and final pay offer last week, but a member poll returned on Thursday confirmed majority support.

A poll of 16,467 CPSU members returned 67.5 per cent for the latest offer, which included a one-off bonus, which the government says will effectively bring forward the first pay rise.

The Public Service Commission announced the bonus last Thursday, and forced eight-month long service-wide talks on pay and conditions to a close, announcing agencies could begin voting on their enterprise agreements.

The service-wide round of bargaining also established a set of more than 50 common conditions, such as increased paid parental leave and rights to flexible work.

"The endorsed APS-wide package is one that CPSU members can and should be proud of," the union's national secretary Melissa Donnelly said in a statement.

"In just one round of service-wide bargaining we have secured industry leading conditions, an 11.2 per cent pay rise with back pay, a considerable lump sum payment at sign on, no cuts to existing conditions, and no delays."

The union's official backing confirms it will not continue industrial action, which it has undertaken in several agencies, and that it will not campaign for members to vote "no" on enterprise agreements.

This path was unlikely, given the union was hesitant to risk a delay to the first pay rise, scheduled for March 2024, with staff struggling under rising cost of living.

The pay negotiations stalled in September, when the CPSU rejected the government's second offer of an 11.2 per cent pay rise over three years, under pressure from a subset of members who had called for a more aggressive approach to bargaining.

Under the initial offer, public servants would receive a pay rise of 4 per cent from March 14, 2024, 3.8 per cent from March 13, 2025, and 3.4 per cent from March 12, 2026.

But the Public Service Commission offered to deliver a one-off payment to staff at agencies which reach in-principle agreement on their enterprise agreements by March 2024.

The one-off payment would be equivalent to 0.92 per cent of public servants' base salary, calculated from December 21, as a means to bring forward the overall 4 per cent pay rise.

It has been criticised for not including superannuation.

Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher announced the union's "overwhelming support" for the government's position on public service wages and conditions on Thursday afternoon.

"This package is a significant improvement in pay and conditions for public servants," she said in a statement.

Ms Donnelly acknowledged members who had taken strike action to pressure the government for more, in agencies including Services Australia, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Fair Work Ombudsman and parts of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

"Our members entered this process prepared to fight for improvements to their pay and conditions, and that is what they have done," she said.

"While there have been mixed views on pay throughout the process, we have shifted government's position twice without delaying bargaining outcomes or sacrificing conditions."

She also welcomed progress made on a pay equity model, which will deliver additional pay rises to staff at some of the lowest-paid agencies, bringing conditions closer in line across the APS.

"Of particular note, is the progress that has been made on pay equity. A fragmented and divided APS has seen pay equity blow out, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and those working in our cultural institutions suffering the most," she said.

The pay equity model means that nearly 8000 employees in more than 80 agencies will receive additional pay rises.

Ms Donnelly noted "there is still much more to be done" in rebuilding the APS.