Finance workers—Job cuts
Statement
Hon Klasey Hirst (5:25 pm): I rise today and also on behalf of my colleague in the other place the member for Maylands, Dan Bull, to speak about the tidal wave of job cuts sweeping through the banking sector and to stand in solidarity with our former colleagues at the ANZ and with finance workers right across the industry. I refer, of course, to the news this week that ANZ will cut 3,500 jobs plus 1,000 contractors by September next year. Let me say that again: it is 3,500 permanent roles, which works out to be over 8% of its workforce. Wendy Streets, president of the Finance Sector Union said:
This is out of control—it's not strategy, it's unhinged …
When the union asked who will do the work of those 3,500 sacked staff, ANZ has no answer except to say that the work would simply stop. As the FSU put it, "That's not a plan; that's chaos", and that chaos is evident. Just two weeks ago, hundreds of ANZ staff were mistakenly sent an automated email telling them that they were being made redundant before they had been formally told. Psychologists had to be brought in to help deal with the fallout. The union called it a disgusting way for workers to learn about job cuts, blaming the chaotic pace of change being forced through, and we could not agree more. Earlier this year, ANZ staff were told to return to the office at least 50% of the time or risk losing up to half of their variable pay. We have also heard on the ground that apparently ANZ is actively tracking staff movements in and out of buildings through their passes. While this may sound minor, it creates unnecessary stress and anxiety. It is common for more than one person to enter at a time without swiping, and no professional wants to feel like Big Brother is watching them at work.
These are skilled and experienced employees and it is demeaning and corrosive to culture at a time when support and trust is what is needed most. Furthermore, ANZ has already initiated a McKinsey review of senior management reporting lines and risk, alongside a hiring freeze that has been in place since early July through to the end of this financial year. These job cuts have been announced before the review is completed, which could suggest that the intended outcome may have been determined in advance. It feels cynical and as though the review is less about assessing options and more about providing a veneer of process.
But the job cuts are happening at not just ANZ. The Bank of Queensland last week announced that it will cut 200 jobs and offshore half its contact centre. NAB announced yesterday that it will cut around 400 roles in its technology and enterprise operations, and just this morning, Bendigo Bank confirmed that nearly 160 jobs will go. Westpac has also foreshadowed more than 1,500 redundancies under its UNITE program in what could be the largest reduction in a decade. The FSU's national secretary Julia Angrisano said:
Bendigo and BOQ like to market themselves as different, but they're following the same playbook as the big banks.
Workers are being blindsided, jobs are being offshored and customers are left with poor service.
In less than two weeks, announcements have been made affecting over 5,700 banking jobs across Australia. This is happening while the banks are posting enormous profits. ANZ alone has recorded a $7 billion profit this year. NAB and Westpac have also reported multibillion dollar results. Yet it is the staff in the background—the people who maintain the systems, provide specialist support and make sure the front line can actually deliver the services customers expect, who sadly do not always receive—who are being cast aside. We know banking has changed. More people are banking online and on their phones.
In WA we saw Bankwest shut its doors earlier this year and become online only. I remember when Bankwest was a trusted local name with a strong branch network across our suburbs and regions. To see it disappear from our streets was sad. Other banks too have steadily withdrawn their presence, particularly in regional towns, but also in our suburbs. Good luck finding an ATM! During my time in Kalgoorlie I saw the impact when branches closed in places like Norseman, Southern Cross and Kambalda. My electorate now has customers ranging from Bruce Rock to Mukinbudin and Wiluna and even out to the state border who were suddenly forced to drive hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of kilometres on a round trip just to visit their bank. For the staff at those branches it meant the end of jobs and livelihoods in communities that could least afford to lose them. That is why it matters that we keep jobs in WA. Banking sector jobs are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; they are people who understand our local communities and our customers. Offshoring and centralisation strip away knowledge and leave customers worse off. Once those skills and roles leave WA, they are very hard to get back.
These branch closures are the most visible sign of change, but behind the scenes, there have also been steady job losses in support and technology roles for years. The scale of these losses is different now; it is unprecedented. Although digital services work for some, there are times when you simply cannot do without speaking to another person. As I outlined earlier today, anyone who has ever had to deal with a deceased estate will know how important it is to have a real in-person conversation and assistance with compassion. The same is true for complex lending or financial hardship. That is why financial literacy, which I have spoken about before, matters so much. The system itself is becoming harder to navigate just as the people who help navigate it are being cut away. We have seen this before with how the banks are trying to erode conditions. During my time at ANZ the bank put forward an enterprise agreement that would have stripped away hard-won rights. It tried to remove district allowances and an additional week of leave that recognised the extra costs and times faced by regional staff. It also pushed for flexi part-time arrangements, under which staff were guaranteed only 20 hours a fortnight but could be rostered for full-time hours at very short notice. Staff had no say. They had to be available at all times and were only told their hours in the immediately preceding week. We overwhelmingly said no. That collective strength, standing together with the Finance Sector Union (FSU), protected those entitlements and showed that when workers unite, they can stop even one of the Big Four banks from taking away our rights. I want to acknowledge the excellent work of the FSU today. Its advocacy, insistence on transparency and fairness, and the way it listens to affected workers, makes a difference. The finance workers need that voice now more than ever.
To our former colleagues at ANZ and the workers at NAB, the Bendigo Bank, the Bank of Queensland and Westpac and everyone working in the finance sector who is worried about their job, their future and their family: we see you, we remember you and we stand with you. This is a moment for the banks to show leadership by owning up to the consequences, by committing to real support, redeployment, retraining, recognition of years of service and skill, even if a qualification is not formal, and by treating people with dignity. At the end of the day, we should judge a banking institution not just by its profits or share price but by how it treats the people in times of change. Right now too many of those people are being treated as disposable. Thank you.
