National Australia Bank (NAB) managers have organised meetings and lunches for staff inside bank branches across Sydney in contravention of NSW Health Orders.
In photos shared on the NAB's internal Facebook site, staff without masks can be seen seated at tables enjoying shared meals. NSW Health has specifically pointed to lunch and tea rooms at workplaces as possible points of transmission for Covid-19.
Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano said the NAB should be adhering to Health Orders instead of blaming its employees.
"The fact that photos of this risky behaviour were being shared and celebrated internally is evidence that it was encouraged and directed from the top," Ms Angrisano said.
"NAB executives need to take responsibility. They are responsible for providing a safe workplace. They encouraged and facilitated this behaviour, and they had access to the internal Facebook page."
"If NAB were actually disappointed by this, they could have taken action."
"NAB's senior management ignored their responsibility to provide a safe workplace and now that it has become public, their response is to throw staff under the bus.
"This is a disgraceful lack of leadership."
"Senior NAB management were encouraging this behaviour. They are the people who should be held responsible, not those in the photographs."
"We know that essential workplaces, like banks, are a key concern as places of possible transmission of the virus."
"Conditions in those bank branches must be safe for staff and customers."
"Rather than meet their obligations to the community, NAB chose to have managers organise non-essential activities and meetings rather than do their bit reduce the risk to all of us."
Ms Angrisano said NAB was also alone, among the major banks, refusing to grant paid vaccination leave to its staff.
