ABC managing director Hugh Marks' pay offer to ABC staff was rejected on Friday, and now management will be forced back to the bargaining table with unions, and journalists at the broadcaster could go on strike.
It was announced on Friday morning that a resounding 55.9 per cent of ABC staff voted ‘no' on management's latest pay offer, which was 3.5 per cent in the first year, followed by 3.25 per cent in the second and third years that would be covered under the agreement.
Management has argued the offer is above the current inflation rate of 3.2 per cent, while the media union, the MEAA, has argued the offer fails to compensate staff for wages at the public broadcaster growing slower than inflation over the last few years, or keep up with what inflation is projected to rise to by June next year.
It's a significant blow to management and comes at a crucial time for the ABC's leadership, who this week announced the new content slate for 2026.
Every incoming boss at the ABC gets a honeymoon period. There are easy wins when morale is low at the broadcaster: praising the organisation's journalistic excellence or making the case that the broadcaster is still at the centre of Australian life. But inevitably, managing directors begin to make their own decisions and have to own them.
