RBA takes extreme turn on productivity

The Reserve Bank is demanding that staff agree to work longer hours in order to secure a modest pay rise of two per cent a year.

After fruitless negotiations with the Finance Sector Union on a new workplace agreement, RBA management has decided to put its proposal to a staff ballot.

The current RBA agreement provides for a 35-hour ordinary work week.

At one stage RBA management wanted to lift this to 38 ordinary hours from July 2016, then softened it to 37.5 hours per week. The latest RBA plan is for a 37-hour working week, to take effect from September 2016, according to a notice from the FSU.

The union advised staff to vote down the management proposal.