The Finance Sector Union is adamant the Reserve Bank will be forced back to the negotiating table after a 4 per cent pay offer is put to a vote of staff next week. The RBA recently terminated further negotiations with the union over its pay offer. Since talks between the FSU and the RBA opened in May, a string of local banks – NAB, ANZ and Bendigo – have agreed to pay rises of 5 per cent this year. The union believes that the RBA offer is set to lose the ballot because it falls well short of increases across the rest of the banking industry. “Staff working at the Reserve Bank of Australia will vehemently reject an enterprise agreement that would see them cop a pay cut in real terms, and put them at the bottom of the ladder for pay and working conditions in the finance industry,” the union said in a media release.  “Despite being in negotiations with the Finance Sector Union since May this year, RBA has repeatedly refused to provide staff with a pay increase that meets the current cost of living and keeps up with inflation.” The RBA yesterday declined to comment on the prospects of its pay offer winning staff support but referred Banking Day to statements made by Governor Philip Lowe to a parliamentary committee last week. “Our hope is that that will be passed, and that would allow us to pay the four per cent pay rise in early September,” Dr Lowe told the parliamentary committee.  “We want to pay our staff fairly and well and we want to be responsible.  “We think our offer meets those tests, but the FSU does not agree and we're now proceeding to let the staff determine the outcome.” The RBA’s full pay offer includes a 4 per cent pay rise in September, followed by increases of 3.5 per cent and 3 per cent in 2024 and 2025 respectively. The staff ballot will be held over three days next week starting on 21 August. FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano described the bank’s pay offer as “sub-standard” and criticised the bank for rejecting union proposals to improve work conditions, including work-from-home rights. Banks such as NAB, ANZ and Bendigo recently agreed to the insertion of work-from-home provisions in their enterprise agreements. Angrisano predicted the ballot would be rejected by RBA staff. “RBA staff have made it abundantly clear that this is totally unacceptable to them, and will be voting a strong no at the upcoming ballot,” Angrisano said.  At the parliamentary hearing Dr Lowe defended the decision to abandon talks with the union. “I wouldn't say that we're sidelining the FSU, but we've reached a point where the union has indicated to us that it would not support the proposal,” he told the hearing.  “We've had eight rounds of negotiations.  “We now think that the best way to proceed is to hear directly from our staff.”