Unite calls on UK banks to learn from their mistakes and abandon
the sales culture
12th November 2009
Unite, the UK’s largest union has today (Thursday 12th November)
outlined that bank workers are struggling to meet unachievable
sales targets, many of which have not changed since before the
credit crunch and part nationalisation of the banks.
The union fears that there is pressure on staff to promote
financial products, often to those who can ill afford them.
Today, the union will launch a national campaign for staff in
the Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) to fight for a change in the culture
of the UK banking system. Unite believes that the time has now come
to end the link between sales and staff pay in the financial
services industry. The finance union is calling for a new focus
towards high standards of customer service and fair wages for all
staff.
Unite is specifically concerned that staff at the LBG are
struggling to meet unrealistic sales targets which have not changed
since before the financial crisis and the government-led bail out
of the bank.
Unite national officer, Rob Macgregor, said: “Unite has today
launched a major campaign to end aggressive sales targets at Lloyds
Banking Group. In this bank, which is part owned by the taxpayer,
staff should be providing an excellent service to customers and
being paid fairly for doing so.
“Instead we have a sales culture which encourages staff to sell
customers products that they do not want or need.”
“Unite has seen that failure to meet targets has meant staff
losing out on money, and for staff earning a basic salary as little
as £13,000 per year, it means meeting mortgage repayments or saving
for Christmas is even harder than it already is.”
Unite is calling on Lloyds to replace the bonus culture with a
pay system which gives staff fair pay that does not rely on selling
products to customers.
The campaign is calling for bonus arrangements to be
consolidated into a single scheme, and the current arrangement of
linking pay to bonuses to end. Unite which represents staff
across the finance sector is calling for the system to be changed
so that good service is rewarded as opposed to sales.
Just two days ago LBG announced a further 5,000 job losses,
which is in addition to 8,000 job losses that have been announced
across the country since the formation of the group in January.
The union campaign (‘Time for a better deal’) will be launched
today across the UK and Ireland. Union activists are visiting
workplaces across the company.
Unite will hold a press conference to launch the campaign in
London on Thursday.
ENDS
For more information please contact: Saba Mozakka, Unite press
office on: 07768 693 953.
For more information on the Unite campaign for staff in LBG
please visit:
www.unitetheunion.org/fairpayforlloyds
Notes to editors
The press conference will be held on:
Date: Thursday 12th November 2009
Time: 11:00 – 12:00
Location: Unite, Unite House, 128 Theobalds
Road, London, WC1X 8TN
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