Bankwest has lost its status as a standalone employer after its owner, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), notified staff it will no longer employ new workers under the Bankwest entity.
In addition, CBA plans to combine the Bankwest enterprise agreement with CBA’s, putting the hard-fought working conditions of 1400 Bankwest staff at significant risk.
This comes after years of continued transformation by CBA – the closure of the Bankwest retail branches, the closure of Bankwest Business Banking and Bankwest Private Banking.
While the bank has framed the move as an administrative decision, the FSU says it would strip Bankwest workers of their ability to meaningfully fight for their pay, conditions and job security, and risk eroding existing, hard-fought conditions unique to Bankwest.
This also undermines the principle that workers should be able to bargain collectively with real influence over the outcome, the union says.
The FSU says Bankwest workers are proud to work for the bank and have helped to maintain its unique identity in WA despite CBA’s repeated attempts to change its nature through a transition to a fully digital bank.
The union says Bankwest workers are against this move and have launched a petition to CBA Chief Executive Matt Comyn, calling on the bank to maintain is as a separate entity and to respect the workers’ rights to bargain under their own agreement.
The FSU expects CBA to commence bargaining in February.
Finance Sector Union National President Wendy Streets said:
“CBA is essentially calling it quits on Bankwest by making this the end of Bankwest as an employing entity.
“They want to disappear the Bankwest brand, but our members have worked hard to protect Bankwest’s unique culture and identity in WA.
“This move also sets up a situation where around 1400 workers could be forced to bargain alongside more than 33,000 Commonwealth Bank workers. That is not a level playing field.
“This is far from an internal tidy up, it’s about whether Bankwest workers retain a genuine, democratic say over their own enterprise agreement and their pay and conditions, or whether they are swallowed up into a much bigger workforce where their interests can be outvoted.
“The petition makes it clear that there is no consent from workers for their agreement to be folded into a much larger deal that does not reflect their circumstances.
“Bankwest workers are organised, informed and will fight tooth and nail for their future.”
Media contact: Kate Shuttleworth – 0447 418 726
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) says Commonwealth Bank’s multi-billion dollar profit result makes…
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has told workers it will axe 163…
The decision by the CBA and its subsidiary, Bankwest to close 45 branches…
