The Offer at a glance
- Three years of pay going backwards as inflation soars above 7% and expected to remain high
- Smaller wage increases the more you earn with some not guaranteed any increases at all
- Slashing redundancy entitlements for new starters creating a two-tier system
- Cutting the eligibility to claim overtime for many including anyone earning over $95K (or $105K for some team leaders and Group Tech roles)
- Rolling annual leave loading into your base pay
- Creating hierarchies of long service leave entitlements
- Removing entitlements to RDOs / Flexible Days Off for new starters or when you accept a new role (ME Bank Legacy)
- Continue to ignore your workload concerns
The Offer – The devil in the detail
Pay Increases (clause 4.3)
| Salary Band and Range | Year 1
Effective 1 September 2022 |
|
| Band 1 | Up to $90,000 | 4% |
| Band 2 | $90,001 – $120,000 | 4% |
| Band 3 | Greater than $120,000 | Annual Remuneration Review |
| Salary Band and Range | Year 2
Effective 1 September 2023 |
|
| Band 1 | Up to $93,600 | 3.5% |
| Band 2 | $93,601 – $124,800 | 2.75% |
| Band 3 | Greater than $124,800 | Annual Remuneration Review |
| Salary Band and Range | Year 3
Effective 1 September 2024 |
|
| Band 1 | Up to $96,876 | 3% |
| Band 2 | $96,877 – $128,232 | 2.5% |
| Band 3 | Greater than $128,232 | Annual Remuneration Review |
Additional $1000 cash payment offered to those earning up to $90K in Year 1
Why this is a bad deal
Real wage cuts in 2022 as inflation at 7.3% and expected to be over 8%
Cash payment does not form part of salary, does not compound and will be gobbled up in tax
RBA expectation of inflation around 4.75% over 2023 and above 3% in 2024
Over the three years – workers’ pay will go backwards in real terms
Does not provide across the board pay increases meaning the more you earn the less wage increase you receive
No guaranteed wage increases for those earning over $120K
CEO received 15% wage increase
Senior Execs got 8%
Redundancy and Redeployment (clause 7)
New staff hired from January 2021 will have retrenchment payments reduced to the lowest in the sector
4 weeks’ notice, 6 weeks for first year of service, 2 weeks per year thereafter capped at 40 weeks (inclusive notice)
Employees over 45 receive an additional week’s salary per year of services capped at 45 weeks (inclusive notice)
Reduce retrenchment payment cap to 72 weeks for all existing BOQ and ME staff on the agreement. Which is a reduction for the ME Staff.
Redeployment to a position that is higher or lower or the same as the one you are already in. This means that you won’t be able to refuse and retain your right to be paid a retrenchment.
Why this is a bad deal
This is a reduction of more than 50% for staff who are new to bank as current EBA employees receive:
BOQ current (EBA) 6 weeks’ notice, 7 weeks for first year of service, 3 weeks per year thereafter capped at 72 weeks. (BOQ contract employees receive similar to current offer)
ME current 6 weeks’ notice, 7 weeks for first year of service, 4 weeks per year for years 2 to 10, 3 weeks beyond to maximum 79 weeks – this will be reduced to 72 weeks
Selling out conditions/entitlements for future employees when should be proving for same or improved
This creates a two-tier system which everyone should be concerned about.
As more existing staff retire or resign from the bank, the number of people entitled reduces and so does the bargaining power to prevent further changes in the future.
Redeployment is very dangerous for all staff covered as you may end up in a role that is below your level and that you are not happy in at all.
Overtime (clause 3.6)
Limited to people earning less than $95K, or $105K in Team Leader positions or Group Technology roles.
Why this is a bad deal
This is a reduction especially for the ME Bank workers and will likely result in some workers being worse off given the hours that they work.
Annual Leave Loading (clause 5.4)
Abolish Annual Leave Loading and roll into pay
Why this is a bad deal
Once this is gone, you won’t get it back. Missing out on the increasing value of Annual Leave Loading as your pay increases every year.
Long Service Leave (clause 5.8)
Align ME Staff with BOQ position which is legislative minimum – access to LSL after 7 years
ME Heritage Staff retain early access at 5 years
Why this is a bad deal
ME Staff currently have earlier access after 5 years so will be another cut for the joining ME staff.
RDOs and Flexible Days Off (clause 3.2)
Removing entitlements to RDOs and Flexible Days Off for new starters or when you accept a new role (ME Bank Legacy).
Why this is a bad deal
Removal of entitlement for RDOs and Flexible Days Off for new starters and when you accept a new position with BOQ.
Creates two tier system of haves and have nots – see above about selling out conditions for future employees and bargaining power in future.
Rest breaks for Shift and Phone Based Workers (clause 3.4)
Two paid breaks of 10 mins if work more than 7 hours, or one 10 min paid break if less than 7 hours
Why this is a bad deal
Reduction from 15 mins to 10 min paid break times (ME Staff)
Workload Relief (clause 3.9)
Require people to work up to 50 hours per week and up to 54 hours per week in leadership or technology roles.
Why this is a bad deal
There is no way for the worker to have their say on this. FSU sought to include within the workload and staffing clause the requirement to meet and consult with workers prior to setting workloads and when making decisions about the level of staffing. This was all rejected by BOQ. There is no consultation with staff required by the agreement and the discretion relating to staff remains entirely with the Bank.
Additional Hours of Work (clause 3.7)
Require people to work up to 50 hours per week and up to 54 hours per week in leadership or technology roles.
Why this is a bad deal
This means that for people working in roles where they do not get access to overtime, they can be asked to work more than 12 additional hours per week, or 624 hours per year or an additional 30% of their contracted hours without a reconciliation on their hours or recourse.
Flexibility (clause 1.10)
Nothing on the FSU working from home clause or the right to disconnect within the agreement.
Why this is a bad deal
Working from Home and the right to disconnect are important emerging rights and ones that are critical given the lack of hours of work regulation.
Personal Leave (clause 5.1)
Reduction of Personal Leave entitlement from 12 or 17 days per annum to 10 days (align ME Staff with BOQ)
Why this is a bad deal
This is a major cut for any former ME staff and does not provide any improvement to Personal Leave for BOQ staff.
Parental Leave (clause 5.9)
16 weeks primary care
4 weeks secondary care leave
Why this is a bad deal
An improvement from current entitlement of 12 weeks primary care, 2 weeks secondary care leave but this is not at all best practice.
26 weeks is recommended amount from the World Health Organization and Unicef.
12 month qualifying period and the divide between primary and secondary care is wildly out of step with best practice. Most employers have removed 12 month qualifying period and removed primary/secondary care.
Schedule 1 – Classification
BOQ has proposed a new classification structure. This structure reserves to BOQ the right to classify and reclassify roles. The details of the process are not in the agreement and there is no way to know whether your classification is fair.
The process is hidden from staff and they have no right to have a say or any impact on the decision as it is made.
Why this is a bad deal
The process and the outcomes is hidden from staff and controlled by the bank.