News of the finance and information workers union
Flash Archives
July 2005
Banks read the ANZ National dispute tealeaves
The dispute that raged between ANZ National Bank and Finsec for three months this year has left the finance industry considering its industrial implications.
This change in union culture should be a wake up call for employers in the industry. It shows that members can and will stay unified, active and committed for long periods of time to fight for issues of principle. The campaign has achieved significant industrial wins in terms of its initial goal to win the ‘best of both terms and conditions from the two prior agreements for ANZ and National Banks. However it also did not deliver on some key issues around fair compensation for weekend and evening work, the democracy participation bonus, and coverage...
Westpac, BNZ prepare for negotiations
Finsec members at Westpac and BNZ both have collective agreement negotiations later in the year, and are facing very much the same issues. Members are worried about understaffing, and the associated stress that arises from it. Both banks also currently have performance pay systems with targets that often change.
So the two union councils have agreed to hold meetings between both sets of members in late July. These meetings will be paid two-hour meetings and will provide a forum for Finsec members to discuss the common issues facing them. A high turnout at these meetings will send a clear message to the bank that people care about having fair workplaces...
‘Working for Families’ is a tax cut
CTU Economist, Peter Conway, critiques the recent political debate on tax cuts and finds that the tax cut news might not be as small as indicated if you take account of the $1 billion Working for Families package.
Tax cuts, inflation, government spending level and quality, and public debt are all to the fore at this time in election year. Various parties are now in a bidding war to see how much they can give in tax cuts. Tax cuts risk a flow-on effect of cuts in important government services or at the very least an inability to increase spending where needed...
Commonwealth Bank sues Aussie union
Australian Financial Sector Union National Assistant Secretary, Sharron Caddie, describes the court case as an unprecedented attack on the rights of free speech of both employees and shareholders.
“In our view, the attack on the rights of employees to raise issues as shareholders and with non employee shareholders is designed to discourage union members from engaging in broad-based campaigns.”...
Jobs sailing offshore
Finsec’s General Secretary, Andrew Casidy, is warning New Zealand’s banking regulator, the Reserve Bank, of the dangers of banks becoming dependent on the IT platforms held offshore, outsourced processing companies or of handing over the operation of bank call centres to a temp agency.
Outsourcing is well advanced in New Zealand banks and now covers “critical areas of banking operations” says Casidy.
Banks around the world are continuing to outsource thousands of jobs offshore as they search for cheaper and less protected labour. American investment bank Goldman Sachs is spending US$30 million outsourcing up to 1500 front and middle office jobs to Bangalore, in India. HSBC intends to double the number of outsourced workers it has in Asia to 25,000 over the next three years...
Bank profits continue to rise
KPMG has recently released its Financial Institutions Performance Survey 2005 (FIPS). The survey records the relative performance of New Zealand’s financial services. The overwhelming theme from the past year of financial performances appears to be high profits recorded by many companies. The big four Australian owned banks made over $2 billion in New Zealand during 2004...
First employer prosecuted for workplace stress
Employers were delivered a wake up call in April when a Nelson engineering firm became the first New Zealand company to be successfully prosecuted for failing to prevent illness caused by workplace stress. Nalder and Biddle was fined $8000 on 13 April this year and ordered to pay reparation of $1300...
Collective Agreement News
protracted negotiations highlight need for growth.
President’s Editorial
looking at Finsec’s future
More people working at banks
but understaffing continues
Notice of Finsec rule change
non financial members
