
Issue No 119		16 November 2001

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News

Bank Workers Seek Proxies for AGMs

Finance workers are gearing up for national industrial action to coincide with the Annual General Meetings of the major banks in mid-December.

The workers, members of the Finance Sector Union, have begun collecting proxies from shareholders so they can attend the Annual General Meetings to raise issues about staff conditions and customer service from the floor.

Workers are due to take unprecedented industrial action, with stop work rallies outside the Westpac and NAB AGMs in Sydney and Melbourne on December 13 and Sydney action by ANZ workers the following day.

The FSU have advertised in major metropolitan dailies seeking shareholder proxies under the banner "if you think bank bosses and poxy, lend us your proxy!" It is also circulated a community petititon to bbe tabled at the AGMs.

FSU state secretary Geoff Derrick says the time has come to draw a line in the sand for workers and customers.

"These three banks have declared in excess of $6 billion profit from their Australian operations in the past year and each has awarded their executives and directors very large rewards in the form of salary, bonuses and share options," Derrick says.

In recent days it had been revealed that three NAB executive had returned to the USA with $10 million bonuses despite presiding over the $4 billion Homeside debacle.

It was just the latest act of hypocrisy amongst the Big Four banks, who routinely award CEOs multi-million dollar bonuses while cutting back on staff and services.

To register your proxy support go to:

http://www.fsunion.org.au/article.asp?artid=3358

Big Redundancy win

Meanwhile, the Finance Sector Union, Commonwealth Bank Officers' Section, has secured an historic win in the Federal Court.

His Honour Mr Justice Moore found that employees seconded by the Commonwealth Bank to EDS, a separate multi-national IT company, should have been made redundant from the Bank.

His Honour accepted the FSU's argument that the secondment of staff without payment of redundancies was a breach of clause 42 of the Commonwealth Bank Officer's Award 1990. His Honour said further that the Bank failed to pay each employee a severance payment in accordance with Clause 42 (g) of the Award.

The Bank's Mr John Mulcahy said in an Update to EDS staff on the 19th of November 1997 that:

"Quite simply no one will be made redundant...."

Mr Mulcahy also said: "If the FSU pursues its claim, the process is likely to be lengthy and unsuccessful.".

It would seem from the Court's decision that the only part that Mr Mulcahy got right was that the case was indeed lengthy.

The matter has been held over until the 29th of November, for further directions.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 119 contents

Interview: Out of the Rubble
Michael Costa argues that Saturday's election result could have been much, much worse.

Unions: Sixty-Forty Are Good Odds!
John Robertson argues that while there may be many problems with the ALP, union power is not one of them.

Politics: Wrong Way, Go Back
Labor's failure in the federal election is the result of more than bad luck. It is the result of a shift to populism that has left the Party bereft of core principles.

Campaign Diary: Week Five: All Washed Up
If you can stand it, relive the fatefull final week of a most remarkable election campaign.

International: Trade Piracy Unmasked
As the trade barons met in Qatar to chart out their agenda, George Monbiot looks at the machinations behind the scenes.

Factions: The Party's Over
Chris Christodoulou renews his call for a breakdown of the factional system to bring new life into the ALP

History: The Fall-Out
Neale Towart looks back to Labor's reaction to its loss in the 1954 'Petrov election' and finds warnings for today's post mortem.

Media: Elite Defeat
Rowan Cahill looks at the intellectual paucity in the PM's ongoing attacks on 'elite opinion'.

Satire: Crean 'Listens To Australian People': Will Sink Refugee Boats
Simon Crean, the most likely candidate to replace Kim Beazley as Labor's leader, says he will take heed of the message sent to the ALP by Australian voters at the Federal Election.

» Unions Call for Border Review

» Compo Fire Reignites as Bill Hits Deck

» Workers Unite Over Corporate Power

» Day Three: Telstra Privatisation Begins

» Primus Deal Marks New Era in Telcos

» Qantas Staff Cuts Condemned

» Bank Workers Seek Proxies for AGMs

» Blokes Stand Up For The Ladies

» Landmark Community Services Win

» Anger at Sartor's Power Grab

» Consumer Boycott Call for Sugar Co-op

» Apprentices Win Parity with Uni Students

» Competition for Nurses Hots Up

» CFMEU Launches Bunny Club

» ICFTU Reveals 250 Companies in Burma

» Activists Notebook

» STOP PRESS: No Democracy at Telstra AGM