28 May 2026
Draconian employment contracts spell the death of workers’ rights for Bendigo Bank employees
Technology workers at Bendigo Bank are staring down the barrel of having some of…
The Finance Sector Union will use today’s Bendigo Bank AGM to press CEO Richard Fennell and his board to fully commit to protecting local jobs amid the fallout from the bank’s disastrous outsourcing and offshoring.
Since the Bank announced its 2030 strategy last year almost 600 employees have been shown the door.
More than 145 staff were forced to work under inferior conditions when Bendigo Bank inked a deal with global outsourcers Infosys earlier this year.
With jobs continuing to be offshored to global outsourcing provider Genpact, the FSU has secured some job security commitments from the bank.
Their promises include seeking employee preferences if their role changes (including redundancies), committing to no transfers of employees to Genpact on dodgy contracts, and making the practice of mapping work process in preparation for outsourcing, known as ‘blueprinting’, and the transfer of its knowledge to overseas employees, opt-in.
However, the commitments fall well short of the 10 job security demandsthe FSU put to Bendigo’s management several months ago.
Today, Mr Fennell has an opportunity to step up and declare an end to his slash-and-burn approach and give workers some meaningful commitments about their future with the self-styled ‘better big bank’.
The FSU will be asking questions about the bank’s plans for rolling out AI, the closure of regional branches and gender equity.
Quotes attributable to FSU National Assistant Secretary Nicole McPherson:
“When you take a wrecking ball to a bank’s entire workforce, there are serious consequences – and right now, staff morale has hit an all-time low at Bendigo Bank,” Ms McPherson said.
“Bendigo Bank’s so-called 2030 strategy has been nothing more than management hollowing out its local workforce and offshoring Australian jobs to boost its budget bottom line.
“The least management can do is treat workers with the respect and dignity they deserve by offering genuine transparency about their plans for the bank’s future.
"Bendigo likes to call itself the ‘better big bank’, but it has quickly become Australia’s least trusted bank.
“We call on CEO Richard Fennell to use today’s AGM to reverse-course on his slash-and-burn approach and start investing once again in his own workforce.”
ENDS
Media Contact: Sam Burgess 0434 165 630 or [email protected].
Technology workers at Bendigo Bank are staring down the barrel of having some of…
Bendigo Bank has finally responded to our job security demands.
Consultation has now concluded regarding Bendigo Bank's latest proposed cuts.
