Another federal government department has knocked back its wage proposal.

Public servants at the Infrastructure Department have voted overwhelmingly against their latest wages and conditions proposal.

The deal offered a 1.5 per cent wage rise over three years, if “productivity offsets” were met.

It is a big loss for the government's public sector bargaining policy, given that the department has low union membership and has reportedly never before rejected an enterprise agreement proposal.

Over 77 per cent of staff at the 1200-strong department voted, with 29 per cent of those voting yes and 71 per cent against.

Departmental Secretary Mike Mrdak says the department will now go back to the drawing board, ahead of the next set of meetings with union delegates and bargaining representatives.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says it should be a sign to Senator Eric Abetz that he must change his approach to public service bargaining.

“Infrastructure workers have rejected this substandard offer because it would have ripped away their rights and conditions in exchange for a pay rise that was actually a pay cut,” CPSU assistant national secretary Michael Tull told Fairfax Media.

“Only one in five Infrastructure staff are union members so Ministers Abetz may need to change his line about the CPSU ‘stop standing between public servants and the realistic and affordable wage rises’.

“The Infrastructure result is further evidence it actually his bargaining policy, rather than the CPSU, which is preventing new agreements being made.”

But Abetz has had some success – with nine enterprise agreements now having been voted up.

Most of the accepted agreements contained pay rises at or close to 4.5 per cent over three years.

Still, none of the giant agencies like the Australian Tax Office or Department of Human Services have reached an agreement.

A recent CPSU poll of over 7,000 DHS public servants found widespread opposition to the 1.5 per cent deal, as the coupled cuts to conditions and entitlements continue to fuel discontent.