CBA riles union with pay offer and cuts at Bankwest subsidiary

George Lekakis

Bankwest executive general manager Jason Chan

Commonwealth Bank faces a potential backlash from unionised staff after telling the Finance Sector Union it plans to slash 14 branches at its Bankwest subsidiary and arbitrarily grant pay rise for CBA staff outside the enterprise bargaining process.

The union revealed last night that CBA had notified it of 14 Bankwest branch closures in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and SA and a reining in of opening hours at 29 branches in the subsidiary’s home market of WA.

The union said the cutbacks meant that around 126 Bankwest staff faced redundancy, with branch managers, tellers and home lenders affected.

“The Commonwealth Bank and its subsidiary, Bankwest are abandoning customers and communities across the east coast with no Bankwest branches remaining outside WA,” said FSU national secretary, Julia Angrisano.

“It is yet another case of the CBA putting profits before people.

“They act without any concern for their customers and dump them without a second thought when profits at particular branches decline.

“Banks like the CBA and Bankwest promote the lie that large numbers of customers are migrating to digital banking, when the truth is that the banks are actively pushing customers into digital banking.” 

Bankwest executive general manager Jason Chan last night confirmed the cutbacks, saying the bank needed to make a clear choice to invest in channels that customers preferred to engage with the bank.

“Bankwest is in a strong position to grow as a homeowner-focused digital bank on the east coast due to our distinct brand, first class broker offering and 24/7 digital and Contact Centre services,” he said.

"We have a clear ambition to serve more home loan customers nationwide who are seeking simple, friendly and easy access to their banking services through their mobile phone or tablet device.”

CBA yesterday also angered the union by sticking with a decision not to participate in a fresh round of enterprise talks following the expiry of a previous agreement.

According to the union, the bank has arbitrarily decided to grant staff an annual pay rise of 4.5 per cent, which falls short of the union’s sector-wide claim for 6 per cent increases.

Banking Day understands that the bank is selling the pay rise as a 4.75 per cent increase, comprising a 4.25 per cent salary adjustment and a 0.5 per cent boost to superannuation.

CBA has told the union that it wants to defer negotiations for a new enterprise agreement until early next year to allow the company to finalise business divestments and its contract simplification program.