The Finance Sector Union (FSU) welcomes the announcement from the National Australia Bank (NAB) that it plans to reform its bonus pay structure.
FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano said the changes will mean better outcomes for customers. Bank staff will be able to focus on customer needs with less pressure on them to sell products to customers who don't need them or cannot afford them.
FSU members are disappointed that the changes to bonuses are not across the board. Any changes should start at the top and flow down and yet it seems like the changes are concentrated and focused on lower paid workers at the bank.
FSU research submitted to the Sedgwick Review found that bonus and sales culture was still alive and well in the major banks and there remains pressure on staff to sell products like new loans and new credit cards.
The FSU is disappointed that NAB is rolling this policy out without consulting the union and its members.
NAB has committed to return to negotiations for a new collective agreement this year, instead they have been working on a new pay framework – the very thing that should be subject to an enterprise agreement wage discussion.
Quotes attributable to FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano:
"We welcome the NABs move to scale back bonuses -- we've been calling for remuneration reform for a long time, however remuneration reform should start from the top and not impact just frontline lowest paid workers. Bonuses are still rampant at senior and executive levels of all banks."
"We contest the view expressed in Sedgwick Review Part 2 that poor customer outcomes have been substantially reduced by changes to sales culture. Our members are telling us that the banks have disguised things with tricky marketing and language."
"The Banks have never been more profitable, and our members have done an outstanding job during this COVID 19 pandemic. We look forward to negotiating a new collective agreement with the NAB that remunerates customer-facing staff fairly and adequately."
