Warnings of blackouts and lives at risk over power pay struggle

Some specialised workers at the market operator are taking industrial action as pay talks languish.

They are pushing for wage rises linked to inflation and have complained about a growing gap between executive and worker pay.

Unions have referred a bargaining application to the Fair Work Commission, which will try to arbitrate a settlement.

Relations between engineers and top management at the body that runs Australia's biggest power systems have soured amid increasingly fraught pay talks.

Some of the most specialised workers at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which keeps the lights on for millions of customers, have stepped up industrial action as they campaign for pay rises linked to inflation.

Staff in the control rooms managing the most sensitive operations of the market have voted for indefinite bans on assessing and approving non-critical planned outages.

They have also refused to attend daily meetings and temporarily paused, unless urgent, responses to queries from generators and high-voltage power line operators.

In response, AEMO sought an order suspending the action, arguing the work stoppages could cause "catastrophic" risks leading to blackouts and endangering lives.

The Fair Work Commission has agreed to a limited suspension of some actions.

"AEMO formed the view that the combined and cumulative impacts of notified actions created risks to public safety, energy system operations and the economy," a spokesman said.

Thomas Whibley from Professionals Australia, which represents engineers, scientists and analysts, said his members would not do anything to compromise public safety.

He condemned AEMO's tactics as hardline and counterproductive.

"Workers cannot be used as shock absorbers for the poor decisions of overpaid executives," Mr Whibley said.

AEMO runs Australia's two biggest electricity markets, while managing the east coast gas market.

It is an independent body that operates on a not-for-profit basis.

Central to the upheaval over a new enterprise bargaining agreement is a dispute over pay.

Professionals Australia is pushing for pay rises of 4.2 per cent for this financial year and next, but with a floor linked to increases in inflation.

AEMO has capped its offer at 4.2 per cent for each year.

More than 100 staff recently backed a suggestion that AEMO boss Daniel Westerman consider resigning.

At issue was not only what staff labelled a "substandard offer" but claims senior managers, including Mr Westerman, had been collecting bigger bonuses.

Figures from AEMO's annual financial statements show its top brass received almost their entire short-term incentives last year.

All up, executives collected $7.2 million in salaries and short-term benefits in the 12 months to June 30, up from $6.9 million in 2024-25 and $3.3 million in 2020-21.

The industrial action follows three votes in which workers have rejected the offer from AEMO.

After the most recent rejection, Professionals Australia said AEMO removed back pay dated to the beginning of July. The union claimed this was done as "punishment" for workers.

AEMO insisted it had been bargaining in good faith.

The agency said its offer represented "strong and certain wage growth, alongside more benefits that build on an already competitive employment offering".

A spokesman said the agency supported the rights of staff to take protected action and "seeking the Commission's intervention was not a step we took lightly".

The spokesman said AEMO "could not fully mitigate" the work bans "through business continuity and risk management measures alone".

He noted that AEMO's costs were ultimately passed on to consumers, meaning pay rises needed to be weighed against cost-of-living pressures.

"AEMO remains committed to reaching an agreement that provides fair and competitive outcomes for employees," the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not respond to criticism from staff about executive pay levels, but noted Mr Westerman had an 80 per cent approval rating on career rating and transparency website Glassdoor.