We’re continuing to consult with workers from Bendigo Community Banks about your pay and conditions, which will help form your new Bendigo Community Bank Cooperative Workplace Agreement.
This Agreement will cover workers from more than 200 worksites across the country, and will determine your terms and conditions of employment such as pay increases, leave and more.
We’ve already heard from hundreds of Bendigo workers, so if you haven’t yet had a say, now is the time.
If you’ve already completed the survey, share it with a colleague today.
You may be on a Zombie Agreement
However, many workers are actually not currently covered by an Enterprise Agreement. Meaning they receive the minimum legal entitlements or are on an expired Enterprise Agreement, including those that date back to before 2010 and are known as ‘Zombie Agreements’.
Due to changes to workplace laws, ‘Zombie Agreements’ will terminate on 7 December 2023 and everyone covered by them will return to the minimum legal entitlements set by the Banking Award (known as the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award).
So yesterday, the FSU applied to the Fair Work Commission to have these Zombie Agreements extended. If they are extended:
- The status quo will be maintained which will minimise any disruption and confusion about terms and conditions.
- Existing entitlements that are better than the Banking Award will be retained while negotiating terms and conditions in the new Enterprise Agreement.
- We’ll be able to negotiate a fair Agreement that meets the expectations of workers without the 7 December time pressure looming!
We have also written to the Community Bank Boards about our decision to seek an extension of the Zombie Agreements. We await a hearing date from the Fair Work Commission and will keep you updated.
Know someone who isn’t a member?
If you know someone who is not an FSU member, or may be new to Bendigo Bank and unsure about their rights, ask them to join! With a strong union membership, better outcomes are achieved.