Secondees from Commonwealth Bank branches to hard-pressed contact centres “won a $10,000 pay increase” the Finance Sector Union said yesterday.

In April, CBA announced that it would close 114 branches temporarily due to COVID, or so the FSU tells the story on Instagram.

“Staff were seconded to call centre (FAS) roles with one working day’s notice. There were a lot of unanswered questions, but staff were ready to help.

“They stepped up amidst huge uncertainty and did their training remotely – all the while seeking more clarity around the bank’s plans for their jobs and more information about the change (what would they be paid, what would their hours and KPIs be etc).

"Their secondment allowances, when they eventually were told about them, were to be paid at the bottom of the range for their new roles even though FAS agents were being hired off the street for $10,000 more a year at the middle of the pay band.

"FSU members called this out, claiming that their secondment allowance ought to be at least what a new starter in the role would get: $67,000.

"CBA disagreed. They told the FSU and their employees that secondee staff “didn’t deserve the new starter pay because their secondment was temporary, they didn’t have a probation period, and the union couldn’t make CBA ‘cough up’ the fairer amount.

“Members did not give up and stood by their claims.”

These secondments will be extended, and the union and bank continue to wrangle over a rejected request for backpay.