A Commonwealth Bank rule that employees must spend 50% of their monthly hours in the office is being challenged by a union in the Fair Work Commission.
The Finance Sector Union filed a dispute in the commission on Wednesday as the former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett was ridiculed for suggesting staff who work from home should be paid less because they saved money on travel.
Many workplaces are negotiating over the number of days staff should return to the office after bosses asked employees to work from home during the Covid pandemic.
The Commonwealth Bank mandate was announced in late May and is scheduled to start on 17 July. The FSU argues staff were not properly consulted on the change and many believed they were more productive at home.
“What the CBA has done is ignore the enterprise agreement and instead, dictate changes to work-from-home arrangements that currently suit many of its employees,” the union’s national secretary, Julia Angrisano, said.
“Our members at the CBA deserve to be consulted about changes to their working conditions. The Covid-19 pandemic proved that remote work is a sustainable model and this is convenient for vast numbers of workers.”
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said management believed “connection, innovation and the ability to build and strengthen relationships is absolutely fundamental to how we continue to work”.
“Flexible working options remain available, as they always have, and we’ll continue to give consideration to our people who require more tailored arrangements to suit their individual circumstances and in line with our enterprise agreement obligations,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said CBA had had a cordial discussion with the FSU last month and that it respects and adheres to the enterprise agreement.
On Monday, the Australian Public Service Commission struck a deal with unions to give commonwealth public servants greater flexibility in their return to the office. Workers will be able to request to work from home every day.
The Community and Public Sector Union national secretary, Melissa Donnelly, described the deal as groundbreaking and thanked the APSC for compromising.
The deal ensures federal public servants can request flexible working arrangements – and that no mandated office hours will be introduced.
“The traditional approach to Australian public service work has hindered the attraction and retention of staff across the service,” Donnelly said. “Flexibility in how, when and where public sector work is done will see the Australian public service become increasingly diverse, adaptable and accessible.”
On Tuesday, Kennett cited Victoria’s financial position as a reason to reduce salaries for state public servants working from home.
“Clearly, Victoria’s financial position is such that we cannot afford to be increasing salaries, so the most appropriate method is if a person chooses to work from home, whatever the number of days a week, their salary is reduced by the reduction in costs they would have otherwise incurred,” Kennett told the Herald Sun.
“There will be people making a decision (to work from home) because they don’t have to go through the trauma of driving to and from work, or (taking) the train or something – they save money and it saves them all that stress.”
Kennett’s comments were ridiculed by the secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus. She called on Kennett to abandon what she described as “a kneejerk” reaction.
“Whenever there’s an issue affecting workers, it seems the Liberals have one answer: cut people’s pay. It wouldn’t matter the problem, it’s always the same solution – cut workers’ pay,” McManus said.
“There is one exception to this rule and that’s when it comes to their own pay and the pay of CEOs. This pay should always go up. Working people are living through a cost-of-living crisis after 10 years of wage stagnation. The last thing people need is pay cuts.”
