![\"Cameron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2dd9763da97d37c3d0d51388a98629ae408b202e7056921b70df6f425e3db038.png\")
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Updated January 16, 2026 \u2014 12:33pm,first published 11:28am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Commonwealth Bank has been accused of \u201cessentially calling it quits\u201d on its West Australian subsidiary, following the revelation new workers would no longer be employed under the Bankwest entity.<\/p>\n The Financial Sector Union has also flagged CBA\u2019s plans to combine the Bankwest enterprise agreement with the agreement covering the national workforce, which it warned would put the working conditions of 1400 staff at risk.<\/p>\n It comes after CBA closed all Bankwest branches and ATMs in 2024, shifting the bank\u2019s services to online-only.<\/p>\n That decision was made on the back of dwindling over-the-counter transactions, especially in the state\u2019s regions, and saw the closure of 45 branches.<\/p>\n The FSU claimed CBA\u2019s latest move undermined the principle that workers should be able to bargain collectively, with a real influence over the outcome.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cCBA is essentially calling it quits on Bankwest by making this the end of Bankwest as an employing entity,\u201d FSU national president Wendy Streets said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to disappear the Bankwest brand, but our members have worked hard to protect Bankwest\u2019s unique culture and identity in WA.<\/p>\n \u201cThis move also sets up a situation where around 1400 workers could be forced to bargain alongside more than 33,000 Commonwealth Bank workers. That is not a level playing field.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is far from an internal tidy up, it\u2019s about whether Bankwest workers retain a genuine, democratic say over their own enterprise agreement and their pay and conditions, or whether they are swallowed up into a much bigger workforce where their interests can be outvoted.\u201d<\/p>\n A Bankwest spokesperson said conditions and employment arrangements across Bankwest and CBA had become \u201cincreasingly aligned\u201d over the more than 17 years the WA bank had been under the Commonwealth umbrella.<\/p>\n \u201cAll colleagues across the Group will continue to be supported to develop their skills and access a broad range of career pathways,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cBankwest has a clear role in the Group, with an ambition to be Australia\u2019s favourite digital bank, and a strong and distinct identity and culture as a WA-based national digital bank.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the future, colleagues working in Bankwest roles under CBA contracts would continue to have their connection to the Bankwest business clearly reflected in their contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n Bankwest launched a new app and website last year, which was followed by its \u201cJust Enough Bank\u201d campaign which saw the refreshed digital bank\u2019s new colours splashed on billboards across the state, backed by advertising on TV, broadcast and social media.<\/p>\n CBA bought Bankwest in 2008 from the Bank of Scotland, which had bought it from the WA government in 1995 with plans to list 49 per cent of the shares on the ASX, before eventually buying those shares back in 2001.<\/p>\n The bank was founded in 1895 as the Agricultural Bank of WA, which primarily serviced farmers, and was later known as the Rural and Industries Bank \u2013 or R&I \u2013 from the 1940s until it changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia in 1994.<\/p>\n Commonwealth Bank has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Bankwest](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4a4636fc762fed903673ff19050b4254f8d8e65b.jpeg\")
Bankwest branches are no more, and now new workers will be employed under the Commonwealth Bank entity.Peter Milne<\/p>\n![\"xxx\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768585934_164_4a4636fc762fed903673ff19050b4254f8d8e65b.jpeg\")
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