The Community and Public Sector Union is forcing the government into negotiations on wages and conditions for 160,000 workers across state and federal levels.

CPSU will use Fair Work laws to drag the Abbott government to the table, saying it has lost patience with constant delays to the negotiating process.

The Union will wield a little-known Fair Work clause in its favour, employing a ‘majority support determination’ by circulating petitions to force their employer to bargain.

CPSU petitions have reportedly been distributed throughout the public service's most unionised departments; Veterans Affairs, Employment, and Education.

Union national secretary Nadine Flood says she and her colleagues are taking action against ongoing delays.

“We have taken this unusual step because this is an unusual situation with a government that is refusing to negotiate with its employees about their workplace agreements,” Ms Flood has told the Canberra Times.

“We have been asking the government for five months about bargaining and nothing has happened. Enough is enough.

“Most employers agree to bargain with their employees without unions having to resort to this step.”

Public Service Minister Eric Abetz thinks the union's actions are unnecessary, saying his department was about to release its bargaining guidelines for departments this Friday.

Talks will be tense when they do get off the ground, as enterprise agreements in 117 departments and agencies are set to expire in coming months. So far the two sides are yet to agree on basic terms for the talks, and unions are becoming increasingly vocal.

Senator Abetz says he does not what the battle fought through the media, but has yet to sign off on the bargaining framework which would set out the government’s basic stance.

Senator Abetz also blames the previous government, saying Labor failed to establish a basis for the complex negotiations.

Early drafts of the government’s terms offered a 0 per cent pay rise unless workers agreed to give up key employment conditions.

The Canberra Times is reporting that the document expected this week includes a starting position of 1.5 to 2.5 per cent annual pay rises. That number is well below the 4 per cent increase highlighted in the CPSU‘s claims lodged late last year.

The minister says the union should “come to the negotiating table in good faith”.