Latest news

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) is appalled but not at all surprised by the revelation that NAB underpaid workers $172 million dollars over a decade.

In one of the worst cases of employee 'underpayment' in Australian corporate history, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has found NAB short-changed 65,999 workers $127 million in wages from as far back as 2012.

The bank will have to continue paying back all the wages plus $34 million in interest, $8 million in superannuation, a $2 million 'contrition' payment to the Commonwealth, and implement measures outlined in a 56-page enforceable undertaking to prevent it happening again.

Back-payments will range from less than $5 to more than $87,000, including superannuation and interest, with an average back-payment of about $1,934.

This is not a minor payroll issue – it’s a systemic failure that continued over successive enterprise agreements and multiple CEOs.

The FSU first raised concerns with NAB about staff underpayments a decade ago but NAB rejected the allegations.

The union provided assistance to the FWO's investigation.

The news is the latest blow to NAB's already demoralised workforce, which was stunned last month by the announcement that 2500 staff, or 6% of its workforce, would be made redundant in the next year.

The redundancy process was so poorly handled by NAB management that FSU asked the federal health and safety regulator Comcare to investigate how the bank was managing the safety and wellbeing of its employees.

Quotes attributable to FSU National President Wendy Streets:

"Underpayment of wages is theft, pure and simple, and is unacceptable at any employer," Ms Streets said.

"It is hard to believe a big four bank with all its resources would make such a colossal mistake over such a long period of time.

"But if you look at the utter contempt NAB has shown towards its workers lately, it becomes a lot less surprising.

"This latest insult is the last thing workers needed after learning that 2500 of them are no longer needed at the bank.

"Australian taxpayers should also be outraged that millions of dollars were spent on an investigation to correct a mistake that shouldn't have been made in the first place.

“This was not an accident or a one off, the bank knew there was an issue and didn’t act – NAB executives must be held accountable for that.

"The FSU has been calling out wage theft for decades now and yet it still keeps happening on a grand scale."

Media Contact: Sam Burgess 0434 165 630 or [email protected]