NAB offers workers 5% pay rise, extra holidays

Workers at one of Australia’s top banks have been offered a five per cent pay rise and also an extra week of leave but they’ve been advised not to accept.

Workers at one of Australia’s top banks have been offered a five per cent pay rise and also an extra week of leave.

However, as cost of living pressures mount, the union says the offer is not good enough.

NAB confirmed to news.com.au that the banking heavyweight is bargaining with Australian employees on a new enterprise agreement.

For staff members making less than $100,000 in total remuneration, they could receive a five per cent pay rise initially, followed by a four per cent wage increase a year later.

Those numbers were slightly less exciting for workers raking in six figures or more a year. They were offered salary rises of 4.5 per cent in the first year of the new deal, and 3.5 per cent the following year.

NAB’s head of people and culture Susan Ferrier sent the email to staff on Tuesday in an email shared with news.com.au.

As well as the pay boost, Ms Ferrier also revealed that the bank is also proposing an extra week of paid leave.

It comes as NAB released a quarterly update last month which showed that the bank had raked in $1.8 billion in cash earnings, up by three per cent compared to its previous two quarters.

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The workers have been offered a pay rise and more holidays. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

“We want to provide a competitive pay increase to colleagues to continue attracting and retaining talented professionals,” Ms Ferrier said in the email.

NAB employs around 30,000 people.

The proposed changes are subject to negotiating with the Finance Sector Union and also a vote from NAB staff.

Higher paid workers, who are considered in a different class of employment by the compaby, are having their pay rates managed outside the enterprise agreement.

NAB workers received the email on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire

The union, the FSU, said that the proposed EA was not reasonable and was actually a pay cut when factoring in inflation.

“The pay offer from NAB represents an unacceptable real pay cut for our members and fails to address the cost of living crisis currently being faced by more than 30,000 employees covered by the enterprise agreement,” FSU national secretary said Julia Angrisano, per the Sydney Morning Herald.

The headline consumer price index figure hit 6.1 per cent at the latest quarterly update – above what NAB’s staff are being offered.

Accordingly, the FSU wants a six per cent pay rise for NAB workers.

Last month, news.com.au reported on a mining company offering workers a 16 per cent pay rise which was rejected due to the rising cost of everyday items.

Around 460 workers at a NSW mining site were offered a salary increase of 16 per cent over the next four years, with five per cent of that set to kick in over the next year.

However, the overwhelming majority – 87 per cent of the workforce – voted against the suggested enterprise agreement because it wasn’t enough.

Originally published as NAB offers workers 5% pay rise, extra holidays