24 June 2026
Westpac workers stand together against unjustified demotion
Standing up to your manager about your workplace rights is never easy. But…
You know management is out of touch when they announce redundancies where workers lose their jobs just before Christmas.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Westpac and CBA did a few months ago, with job cuts due to kick in mere weeks – and in some cases days – before 25 December.
We said it was unacceptable, and our union secured a better deal for affected employees.
FSU member Yvonne Mantle, who worked at a Westpac branch, said she was “shocked and devastated” to learn that her job would be made redundant just before Christmas.
“I didn’t think it was fair to myself or my team,” said Yvonne.
“Whoever made the decision obviously doesn’t understand what it’s like in the branches around Christmas time.
“It’s much busier than normal, so having two tellers down would have had a severe impact on how busy they’d be and how they’d cope.”
After our union lodged a dispute against Westpac’s 134 retail job cuts, Westpac revised its position. The bank agreed to offer affected employees either a four-week ex-gratia payment (on top of normal redundancy and support) or an extended redeployment period until 16 January 2026.
It was a similar scenario at CBA, where some jobs were due to be terminated on 24 or 31 December. The FSU managed to delay these to 16 January 2026.
“It made me feel more relaxed knowing I didn’t have to deal with the job market this side of Christmas,” said Yvonne.
“Even though the delay was only a week, the fact that we got the additional four weeks gratia does ease things a bit.
“It means I don’t need to worry about where I’m going to find the money to pay for gifts and the added expenses of Christmas. It’s a big financial relief.”
While any redundancy is upsetting, it’s a wonder how these senior executives think it’s acceptable to implement redundancies at such a crucial time of the year.
“It could have destroyed my Christmas,” Yvonne said.
“My team members are my family. I was wanting to be with my colleagues at Christmas, wish my customers a merry Christmas, then leave after that.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but it could have been worse without the FSU.”
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