Better Banks is a three year campaign that runs across all banks.
Finsec members have achieved a lot over recent years. Our new approach to campaigning has meant that all the banks are watching us to see what is coming next! We believe that the Best of Both campaign in ANZ National helped deliver a fairer pay system in Westpac, and likewise the Westpac campaign against targets last year helped ensure a fair new pay system in ANZ National this year. But there are still some big issues that are common across all banks that need fixing. If we work together we have the best chance of introducing industry-wide standards around issues like pay and pay systems, targets, under staffing, stress, investment in staff training, and investment in high quality customer service.
Pay targets are hurting finance workers and they are stressful for customers Finsec is campaigning to en the widespread use of performance pay system thats encourage workers to sell increasingly large amounts of debt products to their customers. If staff don’t reach these arbitrary targets, they miss out on pay. And our jobs might even be threatened. For workers these targets cause stress, frustration and lost pay. For customers, they can also cause stress and frustration.
Finsec supports the CTU's major campaign to make low wages history. We beleive workers should be paid a fair wage or salary that allows them to bring up a family and cover the costs of a happy and safe Kiwi lifestyle.
Old campaigns
The Lead the Way campaign in ANZ National will ensure that the new pay system that ANZ National Bank introduces is fair for all its staff as it merges the two curent pay systems from ANZ and National. We want three things:
- Recognition for skills and service, not for meeting performance targets
- The same pay for doing a similar job
- Negotiated pay increases that apply to everyone
A member's bill from National Party MP, Wayne Mapp, introducing a 90 day probationary period of employment for new workers is currently before Parliament. Members at Finsec and other unions are calling on MPs to stop it going any further.
- The bill means that the first 90 days of new employment, workers would be on a probationary period and able to be dismissed for no reason.
- Employees starting new jobs would have no job security or employment rights for the first 90 days of employment.
- During the probationary period, workers would not be able to go to the Department of Labour's Mediation Service about any employment issue, nor raise a personal grievance or use any other dispute settlement process.
- In 2004, nearly 300,000 New Zealand workers changed their job and most workers have about 6 jobs in a lifetime. Every worker who changes their job could be subject to a 90-day probationary period for each new job.
The Enforcers are not a secret group of heroes. The Enforcers are all staff at Westpac, working together to protect our working rights. Knowing the rights that we have won previously, and working together are our two secret weapons.
All Finsec members at Westpac have basic rights to the proper pay, fair working hours and payment for overtime, having our tea breaks and adequate sick leave and annual leave when we need it, adequate staff levels, and a healthy and safe working environment free from bullying.
If you think your team is missing any of these things, join the campaign to enforce our rights.
Members tell us that BNZ has become a stressful place to work because of the hazards of understaffing, and bullying around unrealistic targets.
Ten years ago the bank used to employ 5,842 staff. Today it employs on 4,779 staff, yet its profits of $541 million are 193% more than they were ten years ago.
Staff have become more than twice as profitable for the bank. Staff who used to make the bank an average $148,000 operating income per year, now make the bank $302,000 operating income per year. The bank forces its profits up by setting sales targets for staff to meet. Those targets generally grow each year, but the number of people employed to meet those targets falls or remains static.
Work Your Proper Hours Day is a British union campaign that aims to highlight the free extra hours that many workers give their companies in the form of overwork. Work Your Proper Hours Day (it was 24th February this year) is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves. Long hours are not good for us; they cause stress; they're bad for our health; they wreck relationships; they make caring for children or dependents more difficult; and tired, burnt-out staff are bad for business.
