Enterprise bargaining at the Australian Energy Market Operator, the body that keeps the lights on across Australia’s biggest power systems, has turned bitter. Some of AEMO’s most specialised staff have stepped up industrial action in a campaign for pay rises linked to inflation, the ABC reported on Friday 30 October.

The action

According to the ABC, staff in the control rooms managing the most sensitive market operations voted for indefinite bans on assessing and approving non-critical planned outages. They also refused to attend daily meetings and temporarily paused non-urgent responses to queries from generators and high-voltage transmission operators.

AEMO sought an order suspending the action, arguing the stoppages could cause “catastrophic” risks leading to blackouts and endangering lives. The Fair Work Commission 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,” an AEMO spokesman said.

The pay gap

Professionals Australia, which represents engineers, scientists and analysts, is seeking increases of 4.2% for this financial year and next, with a floor linked to inflation. AEMO has capped its offer at 4.2% a year. Workers have rejected AEMO’s offer in three votes, and the union says AEMO then removed back pay dated to the beginning of July, a step it described as “punishment”. AEMO says it has bargained in good faith.

Thomas Whibley of Professionals Australia said members would not do anything to compromise public safety, and criticised AEMO’s approach. “Workers cannot be used as shock absorbers for the poor decisions of overpaid executives,” he said.

The ABC reported that, according to AEMO’s annual financial statements, executives received $7.2 million in salaries and short-term benefits in the year to 30 June, up from $6.9 million in 2024–25 and $3.3 million in 2020–21.

AEMO’s case

AEMO said its offer represented “strong and certain wage growth, alongside more benefits that build on an already competitive employment offering”, and that seeking the Commission’s intervention “was not a step we took lightly”. Its spokesman noted that AEMO’s costs are ultimately passed on to consumers, so pay rises need to be weighed against cost-of-living pressures. “AEMO remains committed to reaching an agreement that provides fair and competitive outcomes for employees,” he said.

What happens next

The unions have referred a bargaining application to the Fair Work Commission, which will try to arbitrate a settlement. For employers, the case is a reminder that where protected action threatens safety or essential services, the Commission can suspend some or all of it, but it will not necessarily stop it entirely.

Source: ABC News (30 October 2026).