Australia's ABC staff to go on strike for first time in 20 years

6 hours agoJoel GuintoGetty ImagesIt comes after 60% of ABC staff rejected management's offer of a 10% total pay rise over three yearsStaff at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) will go on Strike on Wednesday for the first time in 20 years, after rejecting a pay rise offer. The 24-hour Strike will begin at 11:00 local time (00:00 GMT) and is expected to disrupt live television and radio broadcasts.It comes after 60% of ABC staff rejected management's offer of a 10% total pay rise over three years - 3.5% in the first year and 3.25% in the two years after. Australia recorded an annual inflation rate of 3.8% in January.The unions said the offer was too low and failed to address many other concerns including reproductive health leave and the use of artificial intelligence.The ABC has about 4,500 staff members and 75% voted on the offer on Sunday."We can't accept a deal that cuts conditions, sends pay backwards against inflation and refuses to rule out replacing ABC journalists with AI bots," said Michael Slezak of the journalists' union, Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).Disruptions are "inevitable" unless ABC puts on the table a "fair offer", said Jocelyn Gammie of the non-journalists' Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU)."The last thing union members want to do is inconvenience loyal ABC audiences by disrupting programming and services, but key bargaining claims remain unresolved," she said.But ABC managing director Hugh Marks said the offer "reflects the maximum level the ABC can sustainably provide and is balanced when looking across all the factors that we need to consider".Marks said the offer was "both sustainable and financially responsible".The ABC will ask Australia's workplace tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, to help resolve the dispute.The last time ABC staff members went on Strike was in 2006, over pay and employment conditions.