We're so disappointed with Great Southern Bank's position

Dear Colleagues,

As you may know, your union, the FSU, is currently negotiating your Enterprise Agreement with Great Southern Bank.

On Tuesday, Sept 21st we had our third bargaining meeting. The discussion focused primarily on pay. Great Southern Bank confirmed their position that 2.25% and a 0.5% short-term incentive pool was a reasonable offer.

Sufficed to say we’re completely disappointed with Great Southern Bank’s position. 

As FSU members have said all along, Great Southern Bank staff deserve to be recognised with a fair pay increase.

We’re deeply concerned that Great Southern Bank have not done their research on what is fair pay by industry standards. 2.25% doesn’t represent real wage growth, let alone keep you in line with other banks. Competitors like BOQ & ME Bank are paying 3% and their salaries are often higher than GSB salaries to begin with.

Below is a fact check of some of the more outrageous claims made by Great Southern Bank in the bargaining meeting.

If you agree that Great Southern Bank’s offer doesn’t cut it – then sign the Fair Pay Petition here and tell us what fair pay actually looks like:

Sign our fair pay petition now!

GSB Claim: What you should think about:
They are using other banks as competitors in their evaluation and offer of 2.25 % fixed rem increase.

That other comparable business EAs negotiated in the last 12 months offered 1.5%

This is what other competitors are currently paying:

BOQ – 3% (2020)

Bendigo – Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited 3% (2020)

ME – ME Bank 3% (2021)

ANZ – ANZ 3% (2020)

CBA – CBA 3 % (2021)

NAB – NAB 3% (2021)

WBC – WBC 3.25% (up to $90,813) (2021)

When asked for a specific example, GSB Management could not provide one and deferred providing an example.

Their aim is to build a modern, transparent enterprise agreement that supports their people Is it modern to have the same model that has been in place for over a decade?

Is it Transparent to have inconsistent STIs with unknowable and unpublished performance objectives.

Is it transparent to have pay secrecy?

Is it still modern to have a gender pay gap?

When was the last time GSB supported you?

They have engaged with staff via WebEx Q+As to get feedback on staff opinion on EA position and have received no negative feedback. The meetings were not advertised by email or Infocus or other forms of communications that are accessible to all GSB staff.

You can’t get genuine feedback if you don’t genuinely engage your staff.

Make sure you share this petition with your colleagues so that know what is going on.

Your participation will determine the outcome of these negotiations. Signing this Fair Pay Petition will directly impact success at the bargaining table.

Authorised by Julia Angrisano, National Secretary