Newsletter No. 27
APRIL / MAY 2005
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Westpac workers strike against weekend work Banks want to open their branches 7 days a week. Westpac hopes to do this from July, but to so, it is pushing to compel its employees into weekend work. Hundreds of Victorian Westpac staff, members of the Financial Services Union (www.fsunion.org.au/), stopped work on 15 April to try to bring Westpac to its senses. They were disgusted that Westpac could propose a new Enterprise Agreement that threatened the voluntary status of Saturday work, introduced Sunday work and could result in reduced pay rates. Members expressed intense dissatisfaction at how Westpac continues to harass staff to work unpaid overtime, sets unrealistic work targets and expects to get more work with less staff. Westpac and the other ‘Big 4’ banks made $11.1bn profit in 2004, while the FSU estimates finance sector workers averaged 1.2 million hours overtime a week, 0.5 million of it unpaid. FSU members will take further industrial action if Westpac does not come up with an acceptable offer by 1 May. Meanwhile ANZ-National Bank workers in New Zealand are conducting nationwide stop work meetings to oppose its efforts to deny compensation for staff who work evenings and weekends — a condition the bank’s staff in Australia retain — at least for now. |