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CBA fights to pursue non-union agreement
Australia’s largest bank plans to bypass the Financial Sector Union and take its new agreement to its workforce in a bid to phase out rostered days off, as well as support the bank’s ability to do individual agreements.

CBA fights to pursue non-union agreement
Australia’s largest bank plans to bypass the Financial Sector Union and take its new agreement to its workforce in a bid to phase out rostered days off, as well as support the bank’s ability to do individual agreements.

Commonwealth Bank has told the Financial Sector Union (FSU) that they could not reach an enterprise agreement, so instead will bypass the union and take the proposal directly to employees.
However, FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said the union will not allow CBA to pressure workers into accepting a defective enterprise agreement that seeks to legitimise and perpetuate the practices that caused the massive wage theft uncovered in 2019.
“CBA was caught red-handed in 2019 ripping off staff to the tune of $57 million in unpaid wages, and the proposed agreement shows that nothing has changed,” Ms Angrisano said.
She said the new proposal was asking members to vote against their own rights.
“CBA’s proposed agreement would effectively refit 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,” Ms Angrisano said.
Ms Angrisano said staff at CBA understood the bank was trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
“CBA has a history of pressuring workers to sell banking products to consumers who don’t need them and can’t afford them.
“Now the bank is looking to cram a bad deal down the throats of its own 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,” Ms Angrisano concluded.
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