Bank employees face cuts

Unions will resume pay negotiations with the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank at the end of this month after winning concessions in December.

The Finance Sector Union and the Australian Services Union and bargaining reps met with the banks in December securing a four per cent pay rise plus a bonus pool of one percent of the value of staff salaries.

“This change is significant as an increase to base salaries means you get a compounding effect of the increase in future years, rather than a one off bonus,” FSU officials told members.

In the second and third years employees receive a 3.5 per cent increase plus a bonus pool of 1.5 per cent each year.

The FSU claims the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is one of the few banks in Australia that does not link staff salary increases to performance.

Other gains include:

The introduction of a 50 per cent loading for work on Saturday mornings to bring the bank in line with industry standards. The union claims this had been a major issue for part time staff.

The bank rejected a proposal to increase its contribution to staff superannuation.

The Federal Government is in the process of introducing an increase to employer contributions from nine per cent to 12 per cent.