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Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn pocketed a hefty 'people and leadership' bonus for 'creating exceptional teams' in the same year thousands of staff signed a petition criticising burnout and dismal pay and the total tally of job cuts rose to 1,000.
CBA workers are furious about the bank's murky bonus structure, which sets what they describe as unattainable KPIs for regular employees and yet paid Comyn a $256,500 payout, despite widespread claims of stress and financial hardship throughout his workforce.
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they → publish → workforce
Mr Comyn's bonus scorecard, included in CBA's most recent annual report, reveals he scored 120 per cent and rated 'above expectations' under the category of People and Leadership.
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he → include → People
The category, which was one of four that Mr Comyn's bonus is weighted against, measures his leadership impact in 'creating exceptional teams', 'leading a culture of learning and excellence' and 'strengthening our talent and succession'.
However, the incentive payment accounts for less than three per cent of the $9.1million salary package Mr Comyn was paid this year - a pay packet that saw him earn the average CBA employee's annual pay in less than a week.
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him → weight → week
It comes as the amount of Commonwealth Bank roles lost this year tops 1,000, as estimated by the Finance Sector Union, while 3,000 employees signed a petition slamming the bank's latest pay offer.
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employees → come → offer
The bank, which made a record profit of nearly $11billion, has been locked in a prolonged pay dispute with the FSU, which is seeking a pay bump to meet inflation.
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which → make → inflation
A damning file of testimonies from 1,700 fed-up staffers, recently hand-delivered to Mr Comyn, who is dating News24 host Laura Jayes following the collapse of his marriage to wife Lucy-Ellen Comyn, also presents a raw snapshot of how rage has simmered among the ranks of Australia's biggest bank.
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rage → feed → bank
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn's $9.1 million salary package saw him earn the average CBA employee's annual pay in less than a week
Comyn is dating News24 host Laura Jayes (left) after the collapse of his marriage to wife Lucy-Ellen (right).
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Comyn → see → Ellen
While his love life makes headlines, CBA staff are more concerned with the murky bonus structure that affords him such generosity while their own KPIs remain unattainable
The bank, which made a record profit of nearly $11billion, has been locked into a prolonged pay dispute with the Finance Sector Union, which is seeking a pay increase to meet inflation
'
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which → make → inflation
We cop all and everything while the big boys and girls sit behind the fence collecting the fruits of our hard-earned labour, always shifting the goalposts for our incentives,' one submission wrote.
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submission → cop → incentives
'The rich toss us peanuts, telling us to look away while they bathe in their greed.
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they → toss → greed
They ought to remember who actually keeps the business running day to day.
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who → remember → day
'They expect us to be robots and go non-stop while senior executives get paid billions and shares, we get a pissy $1,000 in shares.
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we → expect → shares
'I struggle to pay my bills and keep up with the rising cost of living, while at the same time hearing about managers going on golf trips and seeing designer-brand bags or hearing about their next trip to Europe.'
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managers → struggle → Europe
As well as resentment toward the C-suite, the submissions expose what staff see as an unwinnable bonus system, with a stark disparity between rewards at the top and bottom of the organisation.
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staff → expose → organisation
The bank's cash bonus pool, which is open to all eligible staff, including executives, awards bonuses on a 'discretionary' basis, with the amount available determined by 'overall affordability'.
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amount → include → affordability
However, according to staff, the KPIs required to receive a bonus are 'completely unattainable' and constantly changing to become 'harder every year'.
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KPIs → accord → bonus
One woman said that each KPI category was so 'ridiculously unrealistic' that she would need to 'have invented a new way of working that changed how the bank runs' to get her full 12 per cent entitlement.
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bank → say → entitlement
Group Executive Alan Docherty walked away with $4.8million in the last financial year
Group executive Angus Sullivan cleaned up with a salary package of $5million this year
Group executive Michael Vacy-Lyle was also paid a $5million salary package despite no increase to his base salary
FSU Secretary Julie Angrisano said CBA's pay offer from August only widened 'the already obscene pay disparity between management and the workers'
'It's disgusting that he [Comyn] gets 91 per cent of his STVR [bonus] while most employees have to fight tooth and nail against increasingly unrealistic and unattainable standards just to reach 70 per cent.'
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employees → walk → cent
Another person claimed they had 'exceeded KPIs for three years and never received any discretionary increase.
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they → claim → increase
The bank retains significant discretion over bonus outcomes, [and] routinely does not pay employees their full bonus potential.
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bank → retain → potential
'Employees should not be expected to absorb rising living costs while relying on discretionary remuneration that may not be paid at its full potential.'
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that → expect → potential
Several staff members referred to the bank constantly 'moving goalposts' to avoid paying staff bonuses, which were still described as 'subpar' and 'offensive'.
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which → refer → bonuses
Staff also claimed that the bank reduced the amount of people who were eligible for a top rating of 'exceeding expectations', and shrunk the bonuses available.
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who → claim → bonuses
Meanwhile, the bank's own regulatory disclosure revealed that every one of its 42 most senior staff received a bonus in FY25.
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one → reveal → FY25
While staff reportedly can make around 12 to 15 per cent of their salary in bonuses, the CEO is eligible for bonuses of 94 per cent.
Additionally, the CEO, group executives and senior executives also have access to a separate budget pool that awards share-based bonuses which vest over several years.
The structure partly explains how despite none of the executives having increases to their base pay, their overall remuneration still jumped by a combined $9million.
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remuneration → make → 9million
CBA's increased share price accounted for $2.37million out of Mr Comyn's entire pay packet.
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price → increase → packet
For the bank's group executives, Angus Sullivan and Mike Vacy-Lyle cleaned up with salary packages north of $5million, while Andrew Hinchliff and Alan Docherty both walked away with $4.8million in the last financial year.
And while regular workers are assessed on their individual performances, Mr Comyn and his executives are given bonuses based on collective output and the bank's performance.
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Comyn → clean → output
In August, after 10 bargaining meetings with the Finance Sector Union, CBA offered pay rises of up to 11.5 per cent over three years, with the biggest increases reserved for its lowest-paid staff.
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increases → offer → staff
The union called the offer 'dismal' and a 'slap in the face', claiming that 71 per cent of staff would receive a below-inflation rise in the first year.
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cent → call → year
The FSU's Secretary Julie Angrisano said the offer only widened 'the already obscene pay disparity between management and the workers'.
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offer → say → management
'We should not have working poor in Australia but that is exactly what we are seeing at CBA.
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we → have → CBA
However, this week the FSU announced the bank had put another offer on the table, which would be considered.
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which → announce → table
When approached with detailed questions, a spokesperson for Commonwealth Bank said it's people were 'central to how we deliver for our customers'.
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we → approach → customers
'Our people are central to how we deliver for our customers, and we ensure they have ready access to information and guidance about their pay and rewards.
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they → deliver → pay
This includes detailed explanations of their base pay, variable remuneration and the Employee Share Acquisition Plan.
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This → include → pay
Where people have specific questions about their individual situation, they're able to get answers from our dedicated HR Direct team or they can speak directly with their manager.'
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they → have → manager
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