Unite will fight for jobs in finance
8 October 2008
Unite's senior employee representatives from across
the financial services, will hold an emergency meeting this
Wednesday (8th October), to draw up plans to protect their members
in the face of the credit crunch.
The union will develop a charter to fight for jobs in finance
and will be looking to hold employers to account for their
disgraceful behaviour, which has brought a highly profitable
industry to the brink of collapse.
Following the take-over of HBOS by Lloyds TSB and the part
nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley, the union is warning
employers that they will not accept compulsory redundancies in the
banking industry.
The union is calling for a fundamental overhaul of the banking
system, with tougher regulatory requirements. The union will also
call for an end to the offshoring of finance work and for the
culprits of the credit crunch to be held to account.
Unite's deputy general secretary, Graham Goddard said,
"There are hundreds of thousands of staff working for the
financial services in branches, call centres and back offices right
across the country. They are not the culprits of the credit crunch
and we are not prepared to allow them to become the victims.
"Unite's senior representatives from across the financial
services are launching a campaign to fight for their jobs and their
industry. We will use all our legal rights and political influence
to campaign for job security and an end to greed and
irresponsibility.
"Its time to hold employers to account. Their disgraceful
behaviour and cavalier attitudes to lending and risk has brought a
highly profitable industry to the brink of collapse."
The union will be launching a drive to galvanise workers in the
financial services and lobby MPs, MEPs and the regulator to call
for an overhaul of the banking system.
Unite is Britain's biggest union with 180 000 members working in
the financial services. The union has members at LTSB, HBOS and
Northern Rock. As mergers and take-overs intensify, the staff
working in the financial services must be protected. Most people
working in the financial services survive on modest incomes. They
are not the big city bankers who caused the credit crunch, they are
the victims. The starting salary for many workers in the financial
services is as little as £12,000 a year. ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo 07768 931 315
