http:/http://www.fsunion.org.au Latest FSU News en-us http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/NEW-Targets-Know-Your-Rights.aspx KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN RELATION TO TARGETS – YOUR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT SCORE DETERMINES YOUR BONUS AMOUNT. The process for setting and communicating your targets (or performance objectives) is set out in Clause 7 of the Bankwest Workplace Agreement 2007. What are the Bank’s responsibilities to you?   The Bank must provide you with your targets by the second working day of the performance management period. The Bank must discuss with each individual how performance objectives are set and how they will be measured. The Bank is to allow your feedback which must be recorded and taken into account by your Manager.   Guidelines for setting targets These are set out in clause 7.1 of your current Agreement. Targets must:   Reflect the work being undertaken. Take into account local market and geographic factors. Be easily understood,  realistic,  fair,  equitable  and  achievable  within the colleague’s ordinary hours. Factor in your leave entitlements. What can you do if you disagree? If you disagree with your targets you must put your concerns in writing to your immediate Manager. If you simply “sign off” on your targets without noting your concerns this indicates you agree with the targets that have been set for you.  This can become an issue if you do not reach your targets and are put on Performance Improvement as a result. When giving feedback to the Bank about your targets ensure that you always keep a copy for your own records. If you have any questions about this process please contact the FSU Member Rights Centre by emailing fsuinfo@fsunion.org.au or by calling 1300 366 378. Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/Treasurer-Approves-Sale-with-conditions.aspx The Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan has given the go ahead for Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s acquisition of BankWest, with conditions including:  CBA to maintain and grow the BankWest brand No foreign ATM fees between CBA and BankWest from 3 March 2009 CBA and BankWest branches and business centres in Western Australia will not close as a consequence of the acquisition CBA will maintain BankWest’s head office, Managing Director and core functions in Western Australia CBA will consult with the FSU and BankWest employees regarding the implications for employees In addition to these conditions, CBA CEO Ralph Norris has made commitments to maintain staffing levels in Western Australia. CBA have also confirmed that the BankWest Enterprise Agreements will remain in place till at least 2010 when they will be due for renegotiation. FSU will be closely monitoring all of the conditions imposed on the acquisition by the Treasurer and the commitments made by CBA. Business as Usual in the West The conditions imposed by the Treasurer and the commitments made by CBA should mean that employees in Western Australia do not experience any significant change. And in the rest of the country?    The future of BankWest operations outside Western Australia are less certain. The East Coast Stores expansion is currently on hold with a decision regarding its future expected in April 2009. We understand that other areas will be subject to review and are likely to experience change as the integration proceeds in the new year. FSU will keep members informed as we continue discussions with BankWest and CBA. Concerns or Questions? If issues or other questions do arise don’t hesitate to contact your local FSU Rep or the Member Rights Centre on 1300 366 378. Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/Will-the-Fiserv-draft-Agreement.aspx Endorsement for benchmarks for the variation of your agreement The majority of Fiserv employees have now endorsed FSU benchmarks for the variation to the Certified Agreement.  The majority of employees either through signatures or votes at meetings across all sites have endorsed four benchmarks which staff say must be contained as part of the variation to the agreement.  The four benchmarks which employees have endorsed are:  A fair across the board pay increase A 4.5% across the board pay increase which reflects the cost of living increases. Any performance pay should be paid in addition to your across the board pay increase.    Protect your current conditions Current conditions need to be protected for all staff. There should only be improvements to current conditions, not any reduction of conditions.   A fair appraisal system Appraisals need to be conducted fairly and the process should be included in your agreement.  Independent umpire and right to representation by FSU Maintain your right to appeal to any unfair decisions through arbitration in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Protect your legal rights to union access in the workplace. An agreement which does not have these benchmarks will fail your test.  Steps from here: FSU has written to management outlining these benchmarks for inclusion in the draft variation of the Certified Agreement which will be circulated shortly to the Staff Consultative Committee and to employees generally.  FSU has also written to the Staff Consultative Committee asking them to vote to accept these benchmarks  to be included in the draft Agreement.  This committee role is to reflect the views of the majority of employees. We will report to you the response of management.  If you are not a FSU member, ask your Rep how to join so that you add your voice to the campaign to improve your conditions, or click here to join online. Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/What-to-do-if-you.aspx If you are called into a meeting with your Manager and told ANZ no longer require your services you are entitled to the following information: A detailed explanation of how the process occurred. A detailed explanation of why your position was declared surplus to ANZ. A detailed explanation of how your role was one selected as redundant. A detailed explanation of the redeployment options that ANZ explored on your behalf that subsequently lead to the decision they had exhausted that process. Written notification of ANZ’s decision in relation to your ongoing employment. After several meetings with ANZ in the last few days, senior management have assured FSU this detail will be provided at each interview and they have altered their information kits to managers accordingly. If you have already had your meeting and you didn’t receive this amount of detail regarding your ongoing employment you need to: Request an immediate meeting with your manager.   Go through the questions outlined opposite. If however, this level of detail is not provided to you at the meeting or you are left believing ANZ have not exhausted all opportunities to redeploy you, you need to:  Notify your Manager that you are not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion. Notify the FSU of your issue, giving us permission to escalate your dispute over your redeployment options to senior management. Phone the Member Rights Centre on 1300 366 378 with your information immediately. Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/CBA-NetBank-crash-CES-results.aspx Following recent problems, the FSU wrote to the Bank seeking assurances that CES results for the weeks beginning 24th November and 1st December 2008 would not count towards your Performance and Feedback Review. This followed calls from members working in branches and call centres, telling us the NetBank failure caused significant disruption and impacted on their ability to meet targets. The Bank has responded to this request by stating that “The results are best ever. Our people have taken the appropriate pro-active approach during this time and managed the NetBank situation confidently and professionally. The Customer Experience Survey results will be included as normal”. If the CES results at your workplace were not the best ever and were negatively impacted by the NetBank failure, contact the FSU and we will raise any unfair CES results with the Bank. Have your CES results reviewed Recently, a branch requested a review of a CES result as they were aware that the customer had a disability, which created difficuties in completing the survey. On review the bank took this into account and the CES results were not recorded for that week, therefore not impacting on their overall performance outcomes. The NetBank failure was outside your control and can have a real impact on your ability to meet your targets which in turn can have a big effect at performance review time, so let’s seek a review of any unfair CES results. Please contact the Members Rights Centre if you have any concerns regarding your CES results on: 1300 366 378. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/Seasons-Greetings-Fron-FSU-SA.aspx Debbie, Kerridyn, Deanne, Michele, Bec, Derralyn, Bronwyn, Daniel, Kylie, Donna, Jason, Lorraine and your Local Executive Committee of Management. We wish all our members, collegues and their families  a Happy Christmas and the very best for the New Year. Take care, drive safely and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year. The office will be closed from 25/12/08 reopening on 2/1/2008. Queries can be directed to the Member Rights Centre 1300 366 378 and there will be skeleton staff available at the office to deal with any emergency situations should they arise. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD GREETING Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/FSU-Annual-Report-20072008-now.aspx A year in review What has the FSU been doing in 2007-2008? Find out this and more including: Latest FSU member wins Latest campaign updates Reports from NEC presidents OHS information Disputes settled by FSU Careers and member services Member Rights Centre stats and more! Download the FSU Annual Report 2007-2008 here . Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/ANZ-Your-rights-in-restructuring.aspx As part of the One ANZ restructure, many members are contacting the union office to seek to know their rights. While it is bad enough that loyal ANZ staff are being made redundant 3 weeks prior to Christmas, the process of notifying and dealing with staff identified as redundant is falling short of agreed processes and practices. ANZ Redundancy, Redeployment and Retrenchment Agreement (ANZ RRR) ANZ members have enforceable rights under the ANZ RRR agreement that specify: Retrenchment will be the last option All avenues of redeployment throughout the group must first be exhausted Maximum forewarning will be given to individuals No less than 6 weeks notice in writing will be issued First consideration for vacancies will be given to suitably qualified staff facing retrenchment Payments for retrenchment ANZ, as an employer, has an obligation under the agreement to make every effort to avoid retrenchment through redeployment, re-training, natural attrition and curtailing recruitment. Industry practice and principles: The finance industry has adopted a range of practices and principles in dealing with staff impacted by restructuring and retrenchments. First amongst these is ensuring that the dignity of the affected staff member is paramount. This means ensuring that staff are properly consulted about change and redeployment options and provided with counselling and outplacement services where required. Consultation means exploring options with affected staff, not inviting them by email to a meeting to be told they have been selected for retrenchment and there are no redeployment options. Exercise your rights If you or your colleagues are part of the One ANZ or any other restructure and you believe that you have not been accorded your rights under the RRR agreement or provided with proper consultation and support, contact the FSU immediately on 1300 366 378. For further information about your rights under the agreement click here . Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/St-George-BankSA-What-is.aspx St George has advised the FSU that in 2009 they intend to offer injured employees a referral to an organisation called InjuryNET. InjuryNET is a network of medical practitioners who specialise in work-related injuries and the return to work process. The FSU has a number of concerns about the Bank’s decision to utilise InjuryNET. These include: Privacy of personal medical records. What personal medical information will be accessible by the employer? Potential for infringements on the rights of injured employees to see the doctor of their choice. How will referrals to InjuryNet take place and what information will be provided by Managers to injured employees? Options available to injured employees if they are unsatisfied with the treatment provided by the InjuryNET practitioner. The FSU will be discussing these concerns with St George in the next few weeks. In particular we will seek confirmation from the Bank that they will take active steps to inform injured employees of their rights, including the right to claim workers compensation and to select a doctor of their choice. In the interim if you have concerns or comments please contact your local FSU Health and Safety Rep or the FSU’s Member Rights Centre on 1300 366 378. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.fsunion.org.au/News-Views/The-Push-for-Fair-Pay.aspx Westpac annual remuneration review results are now known, but on 1 January when increases apply many employees may be disappointed. Uncertainty on pay continues Last year Westpac made a unilateral decision to abolish across the board pay increases for eligible employees. These increases were replaced with a pay system where an individual’s pay outcome is determined by secretive market data and subjective performance assessments.   This system lacks transparency and certainty on what actual increase you will get because the final outcome relies on management interpretation of the market and your performance. Results from the Staff Perspective Survey 2008 show that two thirds of employees say their pay level is below that of other companies.  The way forward on pay: Overwhelmingly FSU members are in favour of performance pay but only in addition to across the board pay increases that keep pace with the cost of living and recognise employees’ contribution to profits. A fair pay system must be based on: • Guaranteed annual cost of living pay increases; • Reward for performance based on agreed achievable targets; • Proper staffing levels and relief; and • Adequate training Without these factors, employees will continue to receive uncertain pay outcomes. Lessons to be learnt After 2001 St George abandoned performance pay and negotiated with FSU to introduce across the board pay which provides employees with greater certainty. Westpac in New Zealand has recently re-introduced across the board pay after listening to the concerns of union members. In 2009 Westpac should listen to the views of its employees and secure a fair pay system in a union collective Agreement. Join FSU and have a voice on this important issue.     Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT