Unions representing ABC staff have signalled the possibility of further strike action if a dispute over pay and conditions at the broadcaster isn’t resolved.
For the first time in two decades, workers at the national broadcaster went on strike for 24 hours from 11am AEDT on Wednesday.
It prompted ABC managing director Hugh Marks to apologise to audiences on Wednesday as more than 1,000 journalists and staff walked off the job.
ABC journalists and staff begin 24-hour strike action
A majority of staff who voted rejected the broadcaster’s latest pay offer under the three-year enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) earlier this week, paving the way for strike action.
The ABC broadcast BBC content, reruns, and members’ statements in federal parliament to fill the void. Youth broadcaster triple j switched to a pre-prepared music playlist as staff walked out.
Nightly news bulletins and flagship current affairs program 7.30 did not go to air on Wednesday evening, and ABC News Breakfast isn’t being broadcast on Thursday morning. Radio programs AM, PM, The World Today and Radio National Breakfast were also affected.
ABC staff say they are negotiating for better pay and conditions. (AAP: Dean Lewins)
Emergency broadcasting services were to remain on air throughout the strike.
The latest pay offer included a 3.5 per cent pay rise in the first year and 3.25 per cent in the subsequent two years.
The offer also included a $1,000 bonus for all ongoing and fixed-term staff covered by the EBA.
Sixty per cent of the staff who participated voted “No”.
ABC staff gathered outside the ABC office in Sydney with signs after taking industrial action. (AAP: Dean Lewins)
Journalists across nation rally
Striking journalists, camera operators, technicians and other staff rallied outside more than 60 ABC offices, including in Melbourne and Sydney, on Wednesday.
Public service union organiser Sam McCrone said staff across the nation had shown up and were willing to fight after management applied for a hearing in the Fair Work Commission.
“If that change of venue doesn’t come with a change of attitude from management, this fight will continue,” he said.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), which represents many of the staff striking, has argued that the offer is below inflation, and their requests for a solution to short-term, rolling contracts have been ignored.
Mr Marks apologises to the ABC audience for the strike action. (ABC News: Jack Ailwood)
ABC managing director Hugh Marks defended the last rejected pay offer — 10 per cent over three years — as financially responsible and competitive with industry standards.
Mr Marks said the offer, inclusive of the $1,000 one-off bonus, would amount to a pay rise above inflation for some workers.
He said he sympathised with some staff on uncertain short-term contracts or whose pay was capped at rates tied to their job description, an issue he said he felt “needs to be addressed”.
AAP/ABC