NAB management dealt a ‘disappointing’ loss on its wages offer
NAB staff have rejected a new pay deal from the bank’s management and the union has described the offer as a ‘display of arrogance’.
National Australia Bank’s attempt to push through a new wage deal, including pay rises of up to 5 per cent, has been voted down by staff.
NAB chief executive Ross McEwan said the knock-back was a “disappointing” outcome, after more than half voted against the pay deal amid union opposition.
NAB had put its new wage deal to a vote in the face of opposition from the Finance Sector Union. The union opposed the pay plan which would have given staff earning below $100,000 a 5 per cent increase in the first year and a 4.5 per cent rise in the second year.
NAB staff earning more than $100,000 would have been given a 4.5 per cent wage rise in the first year and 3.5 per cent in the second year.
Staff would have also been awarded an extra week of paid leave to be used under a special criteria.
Parental leave would have also lifted from 12 weeks to 16 and superannuation contributions on parenting leave would have more than doubled from 40 weeks to 88.
In a note circulated to NAB staff on Wednesday, Mr McEwan revealed that in a ballot that received a big response, 53.9 per cent of staff had voted against the wage deal.
He said 24,566 NAB staff had voted in the wage ballot – four times as many as participated in the 2016 deal.
“The outcome of the vote is disappointing, however, I acknowledge and respect that a majority of colleagues that voted had a different view,” Mr McEwan said.
The 2016 wage deal last signed between NAB management and staff will remain in effect until a new deal can be agreed.
The FSU had opposed NAB’s pay deal, arguing the bank’s proposed wage rise fell short of inflation and came as the first time the union had opposed the bank’s proposed pay deal in a decade.
FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said the vote outcome showed NAB staff were “angry that the bank refused to do the right thing by its employees, at the same time it is posting a $6.8bn profit”.
“In an astounding display of arrogance, NAB refused to acknowledge feedback from its staff that its proposal failed to address any of their key concerns,” she said.
Ms Angrisano said the FSU had written to NAB following the vote seeking to resume wage negotiations.
“This is Mr McEwan’s opportunity to show NAB staff that he is willing to put his people before profits and achieve an Enterprise Agreement that recognises the contributions of employees,” she said.
“The FSU looks forward to constructive negotiations that ensure our members’ concerns are prioritised.”
The loss comes after Westpac and ANZ got wage deals over the line after attempting similar tactics, putting a new enterprise bargaining deal to workers without approval from the FSU.
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