FSU claims CBA did not pay staff superannuation

In a statement released yesterday, the Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) said the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) had been “ripping off some of its lowest paid staff since at least 2009” by not paying them the full super guarantee levy.

“The CBA employs a large number of part-time workers in branches, call centres and its administration areas, and they have been paid superannuation to cover the hours they were originally contracted to work for, not the actual hours worked,” FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

“CBA workers are telling us that they frequently work longer hours to cover staff shortages and it is that extra time worked where the Commonwealth Bank has been exploiting them by not paying the additional superannuation.”

The FSU said the bank employs 7,000 part-time staff at present, and cautioned that “thousands more former workers and others who have since taken up full-time jobs” could be affected by the underpayments.

“It is bad enough that Australia’s most profitable bank pays some of the lowest wages in the banking sector, now we are finding that part-time staff aren’t getting their full superannuation entitlement,” Ms Angrisano said.

A spokesperson for CBA said the bank took the FSU’s concerns “very seriously” and that it was looking in to the matter.

“We are currently investigating their concerns and we have made it clear to them that, if following investigations we identify any issues, we will rectify them,” the spokesperson said.

“We understand the importance of superannuation to help secure and enhance the financial wellbeing of our employees, and we are committed to ensuring we comply with obligations to employees.”