News of the finance and information workers union
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July 2005
More people working in banks
KPMG’s Financial Institutions Performance Survey hints that banks may finally be getting the message that more staff does not equate to less profit. The number of employees grew in all the major banks and many of the registered banks between 2003 and 2004. The total number of employees working in New Zealand for registered banks grew by 841 people to 23,548 (a growth of 3.7%).
Finsec councillors (your elected negotiators) are pleased to finally see this changing trend, after arguing for years that the sector is systematically understaffed. For instance BNZ employee numbers had declined by more than a thousand people between 1994 and 2002, and Westpac employee numbers declined by two thousand over the same period. In the same time, operating income per employee for both banks doubled to $300,000 per year.
ANZ union councillor, Anton O’Brien, comments that low staffing can undermine what banks are trying to achieve. “Running on a low baseline of staff leaves people with no room for relief. They work harder, undertake multiple roles but get little recognition for their extra effort. It also hinders staff relationships because of the stress it creates and impacts on customer service levels.”
Understaffing is masked in many cases by performance pay systems that compel people to work harder and beyond their paid working hours. Unpaid overtime, workplace stress and in most large banks, increasing staff turnover, have become the symptoms masking an industry wide problem.
Westpac union council chairperson, Maxine Mullen, notes; “Until adequate staffing levels are in place and the problems created by bad performance pay systems are fixed, it is unlikely that this small increase in staffing numbers will make any real difference to the quality of working life for staff or bank productivity and profitability.”
