Australia’s largest bank launched a WorkChoices offensive this week – denying staff time off to attend Thursday’s Your Rights at Work rallies and introducing a standard, bank-wide AWA which drastically reduces conditions. The Finance Sector Union wrote to the bank requesting permission for staff to take time off to attend the union-organised day of action against new IR laws. Permission was denied, said FSU national secretary Paul Schroder.
In the same week, the bank began offering new and existing staff an AWA individual contract that does away with a raft of long-held award conditions including overtime payments, shift penalties, weekend and public holiday loadings and rostered days off. It also waters down redundancy and parental leave rights and gives the employer carte blanche over work duties, hours and location.
The Commonwealth Bank becomes the first major employer to introduce AWAs on a large scale.
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