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March-April 2006
Danger Zone campaign brings target pay to the fore
Finsec members’ campaign to end unnecessary stress in the BNZ has gathered steam in the last month. As part of the collective employment negotiations last year the bank reluctantly agreed to establish a working party on health and safety. This followed Finsec filing a statement by 900 members, claiming that they believed that unnecessary stress existed in their workplace and that they considered it a health and safety issue. The issues that members identified were the setting of unrealistic work standards and expectations (especially through the target processes), under-staffing including lack of relief, and an unacceptable levels of pressure placed on staff.
Finsec members have been raising these issues for years without any significant changes taking place.
After negotiations Finsec launched a ‘Danger Zone’ stress campaign in BNZ. Stress is one outcome of the bank’s target- based pay system and low staffing levels. Finsec councillors believe that other outcomes include comparably lower pay rates than in other major banks, and an inability for many workers at BNZ to progress their pay or career. Finsec hopes this campaign will reduce workplace stress, but will also improve pay and progression within the bank.
As part of the campaign members from around the country have drafted submissions to present to the bank and the working party on the stress hazards that they believe exist in their workplaces. Finsec commissioned independent research into the levels of workplace stress in BNZ (this research is due to be released in the next few weeks). The working party returned its recommendations to the bank in early March. Those recommendations acknowledged that the issues that Finsec members had been raising around understaffing, target-based pay, stress and work-life balance do all exist. They also called for reviews of staffing levels across the bank, and of the bank’s reward and remuneration system including target-based pay.
Finsec hopes this recognition of the issues and the subsequent recommendations to fix these stress-related problems represents an important change of direction by the bank. It has been welcomed by BNZ union councillor, Scott Abdullatif:
“These recommendations, the call for reviews and the acknowledgement that there are issues around stress, understaffing and target based pay now provide Finsec members with a significant opportunity to continue to campaign and lobby for change.”
