Floriade, the major flower festival and one of the ACT's largest tourism draw cards, faces being interrupted by strikes after the government rejected the offer of an interim agreement to prevent industrial action, a major union says.
The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees' Union said the ACT government had rejected its proposal for an interim deal to prevent rolling protected industrial action from affecting the long-running flower festival in Commonwealth Park.
"These workers are proud of their city and proud of the work they put into preparing Floriade and showcasing Canberra to the rest of the country," the union's ACT assistant branch secretary, Michael Hiscox, said.
"It would be a great shame if Floriade could not continue as normal because the government has refused to make a fair offer and meaningfully progress negotiations."
Floriade is due to open to the public on Saturday and run until October 11.
Government service officers represented by the CFMEU have taken protected industrial action for six weekends in a row, refusing to collect rubbish in different areas of Canberra in protest at stalled pay talks.
"We proposed an interim agreement to keep Floriade unaffected while negotiations continue, but the government could not even agree to that," Mr Hiscox said.
"Workers are increasingly frustrated that there is still no fair offer on the table and the key outstanding issues remain unresolved."
The interim deal included paying the workers a front-line allowance sought by the union while talks continued on overall pay increases.
"Floriade contributes more than $71.5 million to the ACT economy, but it relies on the work of some of the ACT government's lowest-paid employees. The workers who make Floriade possible deserve to benefit from the economic gains it creates," Mr Hiscox said.
An ACT government spokeswoman said all union claims were being considered in good faith and the ACT was not aware of any protected industrial action that would directly affect the footprint of the Floriade festival this weekend.
"In the event of a notice of protected industrial action, the government and Events ACT would put appropriate mitigation measures in place to minimise any disruption to the event," the spokeswoman said.
City cleaners will take industrial action in Canberra city, Kingston, Griffith (Manuka shops), Belconnen, Gungahlin, Macquarie and Greenway at the weekend, with a work ban on collecting litter and emptying bins.
"All union claims are being considered in good faith. Any claims with a cost need to be approved by the enterprise bargaining subcommittee of cabinet. All such claims are being carefully considered, given the fiscal environment," the spokeswoman said.
The government is facing the prospect of extensive industrial action after territory public servants voted against a proposed pay offer the Community and Public Sector Union warned was not good enough and encouraged staff to reject.
Public Service Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government would keep negotiating in good faith after staff rejected the deal that offered 3 per cent pay rises each year for three years, plus inflation-linked top-up payments.
"This offer was the third we made and a genuine attempt to reach a fair and balanced agreement, with a pay rise above the projected rate of inflation over the next three years and substantial improvements in conditions," Ms Stephen-Smith said on Wednesday after the ballot results were released.
"This result comes at a time when we know workers are facing cost of living pressures and ongoing uncertainty about inflation and interest rates."
