Union puts NAB on notice

The Financial Services Union has put the National Australia Bank (NAB) on notice, demanding that staff who worked through the recent system meltdown have their performance targets amended.

The Financial Services Union has put NAB on notice after its computer system melted down, forcing staff to step in. (Point image by Lisamarie Babik, CC2.0)

NAB's transaction system suffered a major system crash last Wednesday, leaving customers in a lurch without their cash and unsure of their true balance or transaction histories.

The bank made the decision to open branches over that weekend so that customers could withdraw what cash they had over the counter in the interim.

Hundreds of staff worked to service customers that weekend, and now the union is asking NAB to amend its sales targets and performance metrics to accommodate for the overtime.

"We have also requested that NAB review and adjust employee performance objectives, such as customer satisfaction ratings that have been directly impacted by this problem to ensure there is no loss of income or performance consequences for staff," the Financial Services Union (FSU) said on its website yesterday.

The union also demanded an update into how the system issue was being rectified and how the bank plans to avoid similar issues in future.

"In writing to NAB, the FSU has requested the bank provide us with an up-to-date briefing on the system error, its causes, remedies and future avoidance strategies," the union said.

ZDNet Australia contacted NAB to determine its response to the letter, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

NAB's most recent system stumble affected millions of customers nationwide. One analyst has suggested that it may not be the last of the major financial system catastrophes to come.