Consolidation: ANZ has elected to merge its two Melbourne call centres into one. Photo: AFP
An ANZ proposal to offshore almost 600 call centre jobs has been shelved following the bank’s decision to consolidated its Melbourne offices into one site.
The bank said the move was taken as the Mulgrave site, where 340 staff worked, had reached the end of its life.
But the Finance Sector Union (FSU) said the decision was made after ANZ staff launched a community campaign to save their jobs following a leaked internal document earlier this year that raised the possibility of cutting the proportion of ANZ job staff from 87 per cent to 42 per cent by 2015.
The cuts, if they were carried out, could have seen up to 590 jobs lost. About 350 staff worked at the Mulgrave site, and about 250 staff are based at the Dorcas Street site in South Melbourne.
ANZ said it would be working with its staff over the next year to adjust to the changes, which would see all the Mulgrave positions moved to the South Melbourne site.
FSU spokeswoman Leanne Shingles said the bank's announcement reflected a victory for ANZ workers, who had enlisted the help of their local communities and politicians to stop the potential job losses.
"It was a concerted effort from the workers at ANZ and they are certainly celebrating their very successful campaign today with the news that 590 jobs are to remain in Australia," Ms Shingles said.
''This is the first time there has been an offshoring proposal at ANZ that has been overturned, it is a really significant win. ... We think this is something that is really going to resonate across the finance sector."
The FSU has previously described ANZ as being one of the most aggressive "offshorers" among the big four banks.
An ANZ spokesman said the lease for the Mulgrave site was due to end and that the building was "coming to the end of its useful life" without a significant renovation.
The spokesman said in June that no decisions had been made following the draft plan, which had been drawn up for senior management.
In May, ANZ replaced 70 call centre jobs in South Melbourne with positions in New Zealand, although the bank said it expected to meet the numbers through natural attrition.
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