The union representing community services workers in the ACT will seek to force the government to the bargaining table in an effort to bring its workers' leave entitlements into line with public servants.
The Australian Services Union said it would lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday to force the start of negotiations with the territory government for workers paid under the community sector multiple enterprise agreement.
The agreement covered 18 organisations where 80 per cent of the staff were women, the union said.
Changes to Commonwealth industrial laws had given the Fair Work Commission the power to compel governments to negotiate on publicly funded sectors, the union said.
Australian Services Union NSW & ACT secretary Angus McFarland said denying basic entitlements to community sector workers - including paid parental leave and paid family and domestic violence leave - when they were readily available to public servants would exacerbate workforce shortages.
"For more than a year, the ACT government has refused to listen. We are asking the Fair Work Commission to intervene to force the government to the negotiating table to give essential workers a fair and equitable deal," Mr McFarland said.
"These workers are doing some of the toughest jobs out there. They are on the frontline of the homelessness crisis, and dealing with the endemic of domestic and sexual violence, every day."
Romy Listo, a senior health promotions officer at Women's Health Matters, said the government would come to the bargaining table if it was serious about its commitment to gender equality.
"I work for a women's organisation and all of my coworkers are women, and we're not unlike other organisations on the agreement. We do gendered work that is about caring for marginalised people in the community. This is about pay and paid parental leave equity for women workers," Dr Listo said.
"If our government is serious about their commitment gender equality, they will come to the table to bargain with us."
"The community sector provides critical services and advice for our ACT government. We are funded by the ACT government, but we are not valued or treated the same as other workers. We deserve to be valued for our work - we are essential, skilled workers and the public sector relies on our expertise."
Mr McFarland said the ACT government was withholding paid parental and paid family and domestic violence leave.
The union was optimistic the Fair Work Commission could facilitate a "sensible and long-overdue" resolution for Canberra's community service workers, he said.
Community service workers are entitled to access the government's 20-week paid parental leave scheme in addition to unpaid parental leave in the national employment standards.
Public servants who give birth, however, can access 24 weeks of paid leave in addition to the federal government's 20-week paid leave scheme.
Public servants in the ACT have access to 20 days paid leave if they are experiencing family, domestic or sexual violence.
The community sector multiple enterprise agreement includes 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave each year.
