As Suncorp prepares for its Annual General Meeting tomorrow (22 October), the Finance Sector Union is calling on the insurer to step up and ensure staff have a modern enterprise agreement befitting the calibre of the work they do and the capacity of the very profitable company they work for.
FSU National President Wendy Streets said:
“Suncorp has an opportunity at this AGM to commit to being a company that doesn’t just care about its shareholders or its profits. After 10 years, workers are pleased the company is sitting down with them to negotiate an Enterprise Agreement. Yet they are starting well behind their peers in the industry.
“We’re asking Suncorp to do no more, and no less, than to commit to the kind of contemporary conditions that workers at their competitors have enjoyed for years. And a lot has changed in the insurance workforce over that decade – insurance companies like Allianz, Bupa, IAG and Zurich have provided their workers with substantive guaranteed pay increases, granted new leave entitlements, and reached sensible agreements on flexible and working from home arrangements.
“Suncorp says it’s ready to put a pay deal forward so this is their opportunity to do the right thing. Including more of the same is just not good enough.
“Workers deserve a guaranteed pay rise that meets the cost of living, and this isn’t a big ask considering CEO Steve Johnson pocketed more than $4 million in 2024.
“Workers are also very aware that the sale of Suncorp Bank to ANZ has made them a heap of money – proceeds of the sale totalled $4.1 billion with the majority of these net proceeds flowing to shareholders. Investors owe the workers who made the sale possible, and worked hard through a very uncertain time, a dividend themselves. They’ve stayed loyal to Suncorp – we’re simply asking that they receive modern and fair pay and conditions.
“It’s therefore time for Suncorp to step up and get serious by putting forward an offer that respects their workforce and provides a fair pay rise that meets the rising cost of living. Investors are increasingly focused on ESG within the companies they invest, and labour relations forms a part of their risk assessment of companies. Suncorp shareholders should be advocating for this agreement to be fairly completed for their sake, as well as the workers’.”
Media contact: David Imber – 0413 274 204
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