The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is facing backlash after being accused of outsourcing more than 100 jobs to India, just weeks after retrenching over 300 Australian staff, with the Finance Sector Union (FSU) calling the move “shameful” and a breach of the bank’s enterprise agreement.
In a blistering statement, FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano told news.com.au,
“By hiring for the same job, at their own Indian subsidiary, they’re showing themselves to have breached the Enterprise Agreement and essentially lied to their workers. This is the very definition of bad faith.”
It is reported that the FSU alleges that roles being advertised at CBA’s Bangalore-based subsidiary — including senior software engineers, staff data engineers, engineering managers, and software engineers — are identical to those declared redundant in Australia.
“These jobs are not required to be done in India; they’re just moving the work there to take advantage of cheaper labour and further line their own pockets,” Angrisano said, noting that CBA India’s workforce had doubled from 2,854 in June 2022 to 5,630 by June 2024.
The union says it has now taken action in the Fair Work Commission, arguing that the redundancies were not genuine and violated Clause 36 of the CBA Enterprise Agreement, which defines the conditions under which a role can be declared redundant.
“This is a shameful act from Australia’s richest company,” Angrisano said.
“All Australians are paying for the sham redundancy actions of the CBA. Not only are Australian workers being unfairly and unreasonably sacked but this is being subsidised by all taxpayers.”
It is reported that CBA, Australia’s largest home lender, posted a six per cent rise in cash profits to $2.6 billion in the March quarter and a half-year cash profit of $5.13 billion. CEO Matt Comyn received $8.98 million in total remuneration last financial year.
Despite its soaring profits, CBA has made a series of job cuts this year, including 164 roles from its technology division in March, followed by additional redundancies in customer service in May. Bankwest, a CBA subsidiary, is also transitioning to a digital-only model, resulting in further job losses.
A CBA spokesperson rejected the FSU’s accusations, saying the bank “refuted their claims” and had “met with the union this week to respond in detail and assure them that there is no basis to their allegation.”
“We have been transparent in communicating workforce shifts with our technology team over the last three years. This includes being explicit about roles which are declining and offering reskilling and upskilling opportunities to people in those roles.”
The bank told Daily Mail Australia that CBA India was insourcing roles previously managed by third-party vendors, not simply recreating sacked roles offshore.
The controversy comes as Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to host an Economic Reform Roundtable in August, with CBA boss Matt Comyn set to participate, raising further questions about the bank’s commitment to Australian workers.
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