CPSU members, public servants wear red in push for more ambitious pay deal

Members of the Community and Public Sector Union gathered in Canberra's Veterans Park on Wednesday morning to kick off the day of action.

The union announced last Wednesday it was rejected the federal government's pay offer to raise wages 10.5 per cent over three years.

CPSU members overwhelmingly voted against the pay offer with 86 per cent of the 15,000 members saying they would not accept it.

The offer, communicated through the Australian Public Service Commission to bureaucrats, would mean employees receive a 4 per cent increase in the first year, 3.5 per cent in the second year and 3 per cent in the third year.

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The public sector union had previously called for a 20 per cent increase over the three-year period, which included a 9 per cent hike in the first year.

Union deputy secretary Beth Vincent-Pietsch said the day of action, which was not industrial action, was important to show the federal government what public servants expected.

"The government's put an offer on the table but it's not ambitious enough. It doesn't deliver," she told those gathered on Wednesday morning.

"We need them to lift their offer. We need them to take the public sector seriously.

"[The Albanese government is] talking about getting wages moving. We need to make sure that that becomes a reality," Ms Vincent-Pietsch said.

"I commend you all for taking a stand, being prepared to be visible in support of a better deal."

The public service commission is aiming to wrap up APS-wide pay and conditions bargaining for the next three years by July 31, before single agency bargaining begins.

Most enterprise agreements will be operational before the end of March 2024.