The union representing public servants says it has taken the Northern Territory government to the Fair Work Commission amid confusion over a promised pay rise.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles in October last year scrapped the NT government's controversial pay freeze amid escalating inflation and strike action from various parts of the public service, including teachers.
The government instead indicated it would offer all of its more than 24,000 employees either a 2 per cent rise or $2,000 pay increase, whichever was greater, at a cost of nearly $250 million.
But months after the pay freeze ended, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said it had taken the government to the Fair Work Commission, alleging public servants were yet to receive any pay increase.
The CPSU's representative in the Northern Territory, David Villegas, said workers were also still in the dark about whether their pay would be backpaid to October last year.
"Our members are still waiting for a pay rise, over six months later," he said.
"So unfortunately we had to go to Fair Work Commission last week to ensure our members actually get a pay rise, and we're looking to get that sorted as soon as possible."
Mr Villegas said the government had now assured the CPSU it would address the union's concerns "very, very soon", but added there still remained questions about how the pay deal was going to be implemented.
Public Employment Minister Paul Kirby did not comment on the Fair Work proceedings directly when contacted for comment by the ABC.
But he said the government was "continuing to work through" various options for implementing the pay rise, including for sectors with existing enterprise agreements with frozen wages.
"Since the government announced changes to its Wages Policy in October 2022, we have worked through most of the negotiations with those sectors working under enterprise agreements that had nominally expired," he said.
Mr Kirby did not respond to a question on whether employees would receive backpay.
The ABC understands enterprise agreements have been reached for some education staff and correctional officers, but that there are a number of votes on agreements that are yet to proceed.
Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro described the delay as a "bungle" and warned the situation was making the NT public service less attractive to workers.
"I think this delay is just pure incompetence from a government that can't govern," she said.
"It doesn't understand the impact that CPI and inflation is having on cost of living pressures for families, and it's throwing public servants under the bus."
Budget outlines $245 million cost for increase
The controversial pay freeze was dumped amid increasing pressure on the government from unions, despite public servants agreeing to the freeze months earlier during enterprise bargaining.
At the time, the government said the increase would apply to all public servants, even those covered by enterprise agreements enforcing the pay freeze.
The freeze was a key pillar of former Chief Minister Michael Gunner's attempts to rein in record deficits, and was in response to the findings of the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission.
Only months after his resignation in May last year, Mr Gunner's successor Natasha Fyles announced the freeze would be dumped.
That was only a month after teachers and corrections staff began strikes across the NT, rejecting pay offers that would've seen their wages frozen.
In the 2023-24 Northern Territory budget handed down this week, Treasury estimated the decision to increase wages by 2 per cent, compounding annually, would cost $245 million over the three financial years to 2025-26.
