ABC workers in Melbourne and Sydney are prepared to launch large-scale industrial action unless management backs down from contentious redundancy plans.
Union representatives have been in meetings with the public broadcaster on Thursday afternoon, urging management to slow down its "rush towards forced redundancies" and consider a voluntary scheme instead.
The meetings comes after hundreds of employees, still reeling from this week's announcement of more than 400 job cuts, resolved to condemn ABC management for failing to meet to genuine consultation requirements set out in their workplace deals.
Members are yet to decide on industrial action but have voted to "take any and all steps necessary" to ensure a fair redundancy process.
The workers' two main unions - the Community and Public Sector Union and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance - claim the broadcaster is "jumping the gun" in an effort to fast-track redundancies.
"We know the ABC wants to have this all done and dusted by Christmas ... but in reality it is getting ahead of itself," CPSU lead organiser Sarah Hunt said.
"The ABC has a legal obligation to talk to affected staff first and discuss measures that the ABC is taking to minimise staff redundancies and reduce the impact on employees."
Staff at the public broadcaster are furious at the proposed "skills matrix", which would rate employees skills on a scale of 1-10 before they are compared with staff from other pools.
Union members have resolved not to participate in the "duplicitous process".
"There is nothing in the agreement that says it can pit colleague against colleague in a corrosive spill-and-fill process," Ms Hunt said.
MEAA federal secretary Christopher Warren said ABC management's approach was "one of secrecy and non-consultation", causing great distress to workers.
"The smart approach would be to offer voluntary redundancy that allows those who want to leave to go and those who want to stay to plan how the work will be done with fewer staff," he said.
