Employees at Note Printing Australia (NPA) have voted overwhelmingly to taking protected industrial action after months of failed negotiations for wage increases as part of a new enterprise agreement.

Workers of the national banknote and passport printer located in Craigieburn, Vic, are demanding a 3.5 per cent pay rise, while NPA, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), is only offering two per cent. 

Tony Piccolo, assistant state secretary for the Print Division at the AMWU says, “It is not on my site but another organiser has asked me to negotiate, with my experience. I found it quite ironic that Philip Lowe, RBA head, has said in parliament that businesses need to give their workers wage lifts of three per cent and they are offering their own staff only two per cent.”

Lowe addressed a parliamentary committee in February saying that the RBA would like to see wages growth above three per cent.

[Related: Australian Paper strike over]

Piccolo says, “I am meeting with our onsite delegates and the organiser today. We also requested to meet with the company this afternoon.

“Protected action is a posted ballot, which the union tends to shy away from because people tend to forget to post things. But we saw a strong and resounding response rate here. Around 99 per cent of people voted for industrial action. I hope Note Printing listens to what they have to say.”

A spokesperson for the RBA says “we decline to comment on the ongoing matter”.

NPA supplies the Australian government and some 18 overseas governments with banknotes.

Industrial action is starting to creep back onto then printing stage, workers at Australian Paper’s envelope manufacturing site stopped work for six weeks earlier this year in protest at new working terms and for more pay.

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