
Issue No 67		18 August 2000

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News

Staff Vote With Feet At Commonwealth

More than 350 staff have left the Commonwealth Bank in the last six weeks due to poor pay and low morale leaving the bank battling to staff its branches in time for the Olympics says the FSU.

"Working for the Commonwealth Bank has become so bad and the turnover rate so high that it's now being forced to offer up to $500 for any staff who can coax a friend or relative into it," says Peter Presdee of the Finance Sector Union.

"Bad management and greed are to blame. For several years the Bank's treatment of its staff has been getting worse so it's no surprise that experienced employees are leaving in droves and very few people want to start working for it. .

"This is now a Bank without a plan for providing quality customer service in the long term nor even in the short term for a major event like the Olympics, and it will be staff and ordinary customers who pay the price."

The FSU says the Bank will not be providing relief staff over the Olympics in busy Sydney locations like Parramatta, Hurstville or Hornsby. And in a further drain on staff resources in outer lying suburbs the Bank has sent an urgent memo asking staff to volunteer to work in the CBD over the Olympics."

FSU members are pressing for a 6.5% per year pay rise and adequate staffing levels in a new Enterprise Agreement.

'That's why thousands of our members went on strike in June and why further action may be necessary," Mr Presdee said.

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Issue 67 contents

Interview: Slyly Selling the Silver
In their recently published book Privatisation, Sell-off? or Sell out? (ABC Books), Bob and Betty Walker took a long hard look at the major government asset sales of the last decade. Here they tell Workers Online what they've learnt.

Politics: Dysfunctional Society
Noel Pearson looks at the plight of Aboriginal people through a prism of class and comes up with a challenging perspective on Aboriginal welfare, law and order and the state of our society.

History: Money Power
Should the People or the Banks Rule? Reserve Bank Governor McFarlane thinks he knows the answer. Eddie Ward was pretty strongly of the opposite view when the ALP introduced the Commonwealth Banking Legislation in 1945.

International: Soccer Pro Tackles Nike
Olympic sponsor Nike is under pressure over its human rights record in the run up to the Sydney Games.

Economics: Globalony
Frank Stillwell looks at the contradictory nature of the globalising economy and fears it is turning into a race to the bottom.

Satire: IVF Debate: Federal Government Tells Lesbians: "Get Fucked"
MELBOURNE, Monday: The Federal Court decision to allow single women and lesbians to use infertility treatment in Victoria has been attacked by the Federal Government, the Catholic Church and by pro-family community groups.

Review: Confessions Of A Union Buster
It's not a new tome but the threat for Australian Unions remains the same if not greater as when this book appeared five years ago.

» 'Shoot to Kill' Powers Under Union Fire

» SDA Launches Appeal for Struggling Multinational

» Hated Anti-Worker Law Junked

» Bellicose Joy: Baseball Bats and Tinsel

» Selleys Fight Kicks On

» Fiji To Dominate SPOCTU Summit

» Trade Unionists Stand In ARM Elections

» Sydney Hosts Child Care Conference

» Roboboss Corrigan Straddles Lemon

» Staff Vote With Feet At Commonwealth

» Paying Dues Made Easier

» Telstra Risks Roasting Workers

» East Timor's Year One Celebration

» Senate Applauds Australian Seafarers