Commonwealth Bank has been forced to pay the biggest fine in wage theft history after knowingly underpaying thousands of staff more than $16 million as part of a bid to avoid union conditions and gain a competitive advantage.
The Federal Court on Thursday ordered CBA and Commsec to pay $10.3 million for their systemic underpayment of 7400 employees on individual agreements, which amassed over a decade despite repeated internal warnings to senior management.
