Commonwealth Bank must inform the Finance Sector Union within 24 hours of any shift in its position of refusing to increase the wages of its staff, Fair Work Australia ordered on Friday. FWA declined to order the bank to make an offer on pay.The orders, by the successor to the Industrial Relations Commission, are minor in their detail but carry a wider symbolism, with the updated machinery of arbitration grinding once again in banking, as in business generally.The reasons for the single, narrow, order granted by the commissioner, Greg Smith, are of greater interest than the order itself.Smith found that CBA engaged in "unfair conduct which undermines collective bargaining."At the heart of the union's complaint was the hypocrisy of the bank's management, which on the one hand pleaded an inability to pay and announced unilateral pay rises that in real terms amounted to a cut in pay for staff covered by the collective agreement. On the other hand the bank freely negotiated with other staff."The point," Smith wrote, "is whether or not there can be a different position put to the employees through their bargaining representative as opposed to the employees directly."I am satisfied that CBA has not met the good faith bargaining requirements for the disclosure of relevant information. I am also satisfied that its conduct in having two different positions on wages: one for its employees in the collective bargaining forum and one for its employees directly, is unfair."The decision provides one window into the bank's budgeting practices.The Finance Sector Union wanted an order outlining projected employee budget and spend figures for the next two calendar years.However, Glenn Fredericks, head of workplace advisory group at the bank told the commissioner that the bank did not have any documents of this kind.