The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is set to push ahead with a vote on an enterprise agreement that will further erode basic entitlements of staff that were already victims of systemic wage theft by the company, according to the Finance Sector Union (FSU).
Julia Angrisano, FSU national secretary, said the CBA was caught red-handed in 2019 ripping off staff for $57 million in unpaid wages.
“The FSU won’t stand by and allow CBA to pressure its workers to accept a defective enterprise agreement that seeks to legitimise and perpetuate the practices which caused the massive wage theft uncovered in 2019,” Angrisano said.
“CBA’s proposed agreement would effectively re-fit the rules to allow the bank to continue the unlawful behaviour of the past without consequence.
“Now the Commonwealth Bank is attempting to divide its workforce by pushing forward with a vote on a proposed agreement that doesn’t pass the pub test. CBA may think that they ‘can’ do this but they forgot to ask if they should.”
Angrisano said the CBA had a history of pressuring workers to sell banking products to consumers who did not need them and could not afford them.
“Now the bank is looking to cram a bad deal down the throats of its own workers,” Angrisano said.
“We can’t accept an agreement that allows the CBA to continue to exploit its workers.
“The FSU’s role is to protect our members’ interests and voting no to this agreement is in the interest of all CBA employees.
“We will not support this offensive con-job of an enterprise agreement.”
