But ABC managing director David Anderson,who took a 5 per cent pay cut from April until the end of September,said at the timehe would be unable to force a pay freeze. ABC chair Ita Buttrose asked staff to vote on the decision,which would have saved $5 million to go to emergency broadcasting - in early September.
An email seen byThe Sydney Morning HeraldandThe Age from the ABC's chief people officer Rebekah Donaldson on Wednesday said staff had voted against the pay freeze.
"Thank you to all eligible employees who voted on the request from the government to defer the 2 per cent pay rise which was agreed upon in last year’s three-year Enterprise Agreement,"Ms Donaldson said.
"We now have the result of that process and staff have voted against deferring the 2 per cent increase for all eligible employees,an increase agreed and signed off by the Fair Work Commission last January."
ABC sources said 80 per cent of staff voted against the deferral in line with what their unions urged.
Mr Fletcher said the government had asked ABC staff to take a pay freeze in the context of large scale job losses across the economy as well as pay freezes in private sector media and the public service.
"We felt it would have been a fine gesture of solidarity with those across the media sector who have been doing it much tougher than the ABC,"Mr Fletcher said."It is evident from the results of today’s vote that ABC staff did not share this view."