Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has hinted that she will take a different tack to her predecessor Eric Abetz – by actually negotiating.

The CPSU has welcomed new Employment Minister Michaelia Cash’s indication that she will talk to resolve the long-running dispute over the rights, conditions and pay of public sector workers.

Minister Cash has told Fairfax that she is “happy to meet with representatives” and “engage constructively” in her new portfolio.

Her statement came on day 10 of twice daily two-hour airport strikes, with 10 Government agencies also taking a half-day strike last Thursday.

“We would hope Minister’s Cash’s statements translate to an early start to dialogue with the CPSU about changing the Government’s destructive public sector bargaining policy,” said CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood.

“Current Government policy does the opposite of Prime Minister Turnbull’s statement that he is not seeking to attack workplace conditions or wage war on workers and their unions.

“We have more than 150,000 Commonwealth workers frustrated by these long-running attacks on their rights, conditions and, for Border Force workers, their take home pay.

“These are mums and dads scared about their rights and, of course, who haven’t had a pay rise since 2013.

“We are calling on Minister Cash to make resolving this dispute an early priority, after more than 18 months of Government not even talking.”

Enterprise agreements for over a hundred Government agencies expired 15 months ago, but the Government’s obstinate bargaining policy has ensured that new agreements have been reached for just 4 per cent of public sector workers.

Tens of thousands of CPSU members have clearly rejected the Government’s approach, by voting strongly No to enterprise agreements that would hurt them and their families.

Last week 91 per cent of workers with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection – over 10,000 people - rejected an enterprise agreement that would cut the take-home pay of many staff by $8,000 a year.

Border Force officers are today striking for a tenth straight day over the Government’s low-ball bargaining policy, and last week workers from 10 other agencies including the Department of Human Services and the Tax Office also walked off the job for half a day.

“Minister Cash has inherited a bargaining mess, with strong No votes and strikes causing disruption to the public at airports and key agencies including Medicare and Centrelink,” Ms Flood said.

“Provocative attacks on unions have done nothing to resolve this dispute and Minister Cash should instead take a new approach and change the Government’s bargaining policy.”