ABC Strike & Enterprise Bargaining: What Are Your Rights?

More than 2,000 ABC staff walked off the job on March 25, 2026. It was the national broadcaster’s first major strike in 20 years. Flagship programs including 7.30, AM, PM, and Radio National went off air. The ABC News Channel switched to a BBC World Service simulcast.

The trigger: 60% of voting staff rejected a 10% pay offer spread over three years (3.5% in year one, 3.25% in years two and three). With annual inflation at 3.8% in January, unions argued the deal amounted to a real-terms pay cut. The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) are pushing for 5.5% annual increases, along with protections against AI replacing jobs and the casualisation of the workforce.

Whether you work at the ABC or a local retail chain, the process behind this dispute is the same one that governs your workplace pay and conditions. It is called enterprise bargaining, and every Australian worker has the right to participate in it.

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What Is Enterprise Bargaining?

Enterprise bargaining is the process where employers and employees negotiate the terms and conditions that apply to their workplace. The result is an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA), a legally binding document registered with the Fair Work Commission.

An EBA can cover wages, hours of work, leave entitlements, overtime rates, redundancy terms, and, increasingly, issues like AI deployment and casualisation protections.

Key facts about EBAs:

1. They override Modern Awards on most conditions, but they cannot go below the Award safety net
2. They apply to everyone in the workplace or classification covered, whether or not you are a union member
3. They have a maximum term of four years, after which they must be renegotiated or they continue operating as “zombie agreements” until replaced
4. They require a genuine majority vote from affected employees to be approved
5. The Fair Work Commission must approve them, confirming they pass the “better off overall test” (BOOT) against the relevant Modern Award

In Australia, approximately 2.3 million workers are covered by enterprise agreements. If you work for a large employer, a government agency, a university, a hospital, or a major company, there is a good chance your pay and conditions are governed by one.

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What Happened at the ABC

The ABC’s enterprise agreement expired, and negotiations for a new one have been running for months. The ABC management offered a 10% pay increase over three years. The unions countered that this does not keep pace with the cost of living and demanded 5.5% annual increases.

On top of pay, the unions raised two concerns that are becoming central to enterprise bargaining across Australia:

• AI protections. Staff want guarantees that artificial intelligence will not be used to replace jobs without consultation, retraining, and redeployment options.
• Casualisation. Unions are pushing for limits on the use of casual and contract staff in roles that are effectively permanent.

When 60% of voting staff rejected the proposed agreement, the unions organised a 24-hour protected strike. The ABC has since asked the Fair Work Commission to intervene and help resolve the dispute.

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Your Rights During Enterprise Bargaining

Whether your workplace is negotiating its first EBA or renegotiating an existing one, you have specific rights under the Fair Work Act 2009.

1. Right to be represented. You can choose to be represented by a union, a colleague, or yourself. Your employer cannot prevent you from choosing a bargaining representative.
2. Right to information. Your employer must provide a Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) within 14 days of agreeing to bargain. This notice explains your options.
3. Right to genuine negotiation. Both sides must bargain in good faith. That means attending meetings, responding to proposals in a reasonable timeframe, and not engaging in capricious or unfair conduct.
4. Right to vote. The final agreement must be put to a vote of all affected employees. A simple majority (more than 50%) is required to approve it.
5. Right to access the proposed agreement. Your employer must give you a copy of the proposed agreement and a summary of its terms at least seven clear days before the vote.
6. Right to reject. You can vote no. If the majority rejects the agreement, as the ABC staff did, bargaining continues.

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Protected Industrial Action: What It Means

The ABC strike was “protected industrial action,” which means it was lawful and the participating employees could not be dismissed or disciplined for taking part. Not all strikes have this protection.

For industrial action to be protected under the Fair Work Act, it must meet these conditions:

1. Bargaining must have started and a bargaining representative must have been appointed
2. A protected action ballot must be held, organised by the Fair Work Commission, where a majority of voting employees approve the proposed action
3. Three working days’ written notice must be given to the employer before the action begins
4. The action must relate to the EBA being negotiated, not to political or secondary issues

Protected action can include full strikes, partial work bans (such as refusing to perform certain duties), and overtime bans. Employees on protected action are not paid for the hours they do not work, but they cannot be sacked, have their employment terminated, or face any adverse action for participating.

If your employer takes adverse action against you for participating in lawful protected industrial action, that is a breach of the general protections provisions under the Fair Work Act.

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AI and Casualisation: The New Bargaining Battlegrounds

The ABC dispute highlights two issues that are reshaping enterprise bargaining across industries.

AI in the workplace. The ABC unions want contractual protections ensuring that AI tools are not used to eliminate roles without proper consultation. This is not unique to media. Workers in finance, logistics, customer service, and administration are raising the same concerns. If your EBA is coming up for negotiation, consider whether AI deployment clauses should be on the table.

Casualisation. Australia has one of the highest rates of casual and non-permanent work in the OECD. The Fair Work Act now includes a pathway for casual workers to convert to permanent employment after 12 months, but enterprise agreements can go further by setting caps on casual ratios, requiring conversion offers at shorter intervals, or restricting the use of labour hire in ongoing roles.

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What to Do If Your EBA Is Up for Negotiation

If your workplace is entering or currently in enterprise bargaining, here are five steps to protect your position:

1. Read your current agreement. Find it on the Fair Work Commission website (fwc.gov.au) by searching your employer’s name. Know what you currently have before negotiating what comes next.
2. Check the relevant Modern Award. Your EBA cannot fall below the Award safety net. If any clause in a proposed agreement is worse than the Award, that is a red flag.
3. Understand your pay in real terms. The ABC staff rejected 10% over three years because inflation at 3.8% would erode much of that increase. Calculate what any proposed pay rise means after inflation.
4. Raise emerging issues. AI deployment, casualisation limits, flexible work arrangements, and mental health provisions are all legitimate bargaining subjects. If they matter to your workplace, put them on the agenda.
5. Know your voting rights. You must receive the proposed agreement and an explanation of its terms at least seven days before the vote. Read it. Ask questions. Vote based on your informed assessment.

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Conclusion

The ABC strike is headline news, but the underlying process belongs to every Australian worker. Enterprise bargaining is how you shape your pay, your conditions, and the rules that govern your working life. Whether your employer is the national broadcaster or a regional logistics company, the rights are the same.

If your enterprise agreement is expiring or negotiations are about to begin, this is the time to understand the process, engage with it, and make sure you are heard.

Start Your Free Audit to check how your current pay and conditions compare.