Union members have rejected a Government offer aimed at settling a dispute over sleepover payments for disability support staff.
Unions have been seeking the minimum wage for sleepovers, including six years' of back-pay for thousands of caregivers.
In February this year, the Court of Appeal ruled that an IHC worker should be paid the minimum wage for sleepover shifts instead of a much lower allowance and be entitled to back-pay.
The Government said the ruling would cost $350 million in back-pay and suggested it might change the law.
During negotiations, the unions asked for half that amount in back-pay and to be on the minimum wage in six months.
The Government countered with $45 million to cover arrears and minimum wage rates in four years.
But 90% of the Public Service Association and the Service & Food Workers union members have rejected that offer.
PSA national secretary Richard Wagstaff said on Wednesday the offer falls well short of what members in both unions are owed and is unrealistic.
The IHC has said its future is bleak if it has to meet the cost of sleepovers which could run into hundreds of millions of dollars in extra wages. It has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court.
