The National Australia Bank(NAB) is closing more branches in regional Victoria tin a move that will inconvenience customers and result in bank workers being made redundant.
NAB’s Casterton branch will close on 19 July, 2018 and the branch at Port Fairy is due to close on 26 July 2018.
Five staff will lose their jobs as a result of the closures and they are going to find it hard to get new jobs as banks continue to close branches across the state. NAB has closed 50 branches in the past 18 months.
The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) is concerned that the NAB failed to consult staff or the community before announcing its decision to close these branches.
FSU Local Executive Secretary Darren Martin said jobs were scarce in the regions and banking should be considered an essential service but the NAB had put profits before people.
“The loss of a local bank could have a devastating impact on these regional communities, with the loss of income affecting other local businesses because workers no longer had cash to spend,” Mr Martin said.
“We think the banks need to reassess how they treat bank workers when they decide to restructure.”
Instead of closing branches, the Finance Sector Union is calling on the NAB to properly consult with its workers and communities about the future of its branch network before making decisions to abandon communities.
Mr Martin said the FSU is concerned that Australian Bankers’ Association Branch Closures Protocol does not go far enough.
“The ABA Protocol should require banks to consult with local communities when deciding on the future of their branch networks. In most cases, no community consultation is being done.”
“Casterton will be left with just a Post Office and a bank agency for locals to do their banking because all the other banks have already deserted the town, local businesses and the community,” Mr Martin said.
Link to the ABA Branch Closures Protocol below.
Media comment Darren Martin 0409029822
Media contact Elisabeth Bowdler 0412112374