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Dear Finsec delegates and members,
I am writing to you to announce the start of a campaign that aims to significantly improve our working lives in the banking industry.
I am inviting all Finsec members to attend paid union meetings in November to discuss and provide feedback on ‘Better Banks’, a three year campaign that will be run across all banks and finance institutions.
Finsec members have been part of some major successes over the past couple of years. Westpac members have had pay progression steps introduced to their pay system. ANZ National members have merged their terms and conditions successfully. BNZ members have been actively campaigning on health and safety issues including eliminating dangerous stress from the workplace.
However we also know that there are many significant issues in our sector that remain unresolved; performance targets, understaffing, stress, pay levels and lack of training, to name a few. Persuading our employers to make real change in these areas will require us to work together across all banks and financial institutions.
For us, as Finsec members, this means supporting each other to raise everyone’s terms and conditions. Winning increased staffing levels in one bank will make it easier to achieve better staffing levels elsewhere. This is why we now need to campaign as employees of one industry rather than as employees of a single bank, each doing different things in each separate bank or financial institution. This is a big change from the way we have operated to date, but it is crucial if we are to achieve results on the big issues we face at work.
It is vital that all union members attend the paid meetings in November. We really need your contribution to our plan. We will send details of the dates and times of these meetings to you next week. Finsec union organisers will also be contacting all delegates in the next few weeks to talk about this further and answer any questions you have.
On the back of this letter is a question and answer sheet about why we are moving to an industry approach. Please make sure that all staff in your site get a copy of this letter and the question and answer sheet.
I am looking forward to us all working together to make our workplaces better for us and our communities.
Sue Boraston
Finsec President
