Legal action has been taken against one of Australia’s largest super funds, ESSSuper, for allegedly impacting the retirement savings of Victorian transport workers. Gordon Legal and the Rail Tram and Bus Union have filed a class action in the Supreme Court.
The union claims that ESSSuper failed to include shift penalty allowances when calculating super for some rail workers, potentially resulting in over $40 million in unpaid entitlements for current and former members of the Transport Superannuation Fund.
According to Union branch secretary Vik Sharma, this issue has been ongoing for years, leading to the drastic step of pursuing legal action. ESSSuper, which serves emergency services and Victorian government employees, has assets exceeding $36 billion and more than 127,000 members.
Gordon Legal partner James Naughton highlighted that shift penalty allowances are a vital part of transport workers’ income and should have been considered in the super calculations. Failure to include these allowances could result in a significant reduction in super payments, costing each worker hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The class action, led by three applicants including Elwyn Gonsalvez, aims to address the impact of not counting these allowances on the retirement savings of affected workers. ESSSuper has been urged to fulfill its obligations towards beneficiaries and address the issue raised by the legal firm.
Gordon Legal encourages current and retired Victorian transport workers to check if they were members of the transport fund, as they may be entitled to compensation. ESSSuper’s CEO, Robbie Campo, expressed hope for a resolution through discussions with the union and engagement with Metro Trains.
The Victorian government and Metro Trains have been implicated in the matter, with Metro Trains choosing not to comment on the ongoing class action.
