
Issue No 96		18 May 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Banks Workers Opt for People Over Pay

Finance sector workers are prepared to forgo pay increases in order to improve services to the community as they gear up for industry-wide wage negotiations.

The members of the Finance Sector are planning a community-based campaign to back their claim for increased staffing resources and a halt to the closure of bank branches across the industry.

FSU state secretary Geoff Derrick says workers have indicated they would moderate their claim if it were to guarantee services to the community.

Derrick says the union will help educate the public about the huge profits banks are making at the expense at both the workforce and the community.

"The Australian community must reap some rewards from having one of the most profitable banks in the world," Derrick says.

Big Profits All Round

In recent weeks, all four major banks all announced strong interim earnings over the last few weeks, with National Australia Bank leading the way, recording a massive half-year profit of close to $2 billion.

Even St George/Bank SA reported record-breaking figures of a 27 per cent jump in net profit to $211 million. But these were not being matched with returns to the workers.

Westpac, is currently offering workers a 2.9 per cent pay increase. This is despite the following returns: 19 per cent increase in earnings per share, 13 per cent increase in operating profit and a 43 per cent increase in the CEO's salary.

Derrick says the Westpac offer to tellers amounts to just 39 cents per hour, while the bank is making an $8000 profit per minute.

Meanwhile NAB is offering workers just 2.7 per cent, compared with shareholders up 13.2 per cent, operating profits up a whopping 27 per cent and CEO's salary a generous 22 per cent.

And these healthy returns have occurred at a time when Westpac has shed 5523 jobs in the past two years, while NABV has spent $140 million on an IT upgrade that will make 2,700 jobs redundant.

"We need to rebalance the relationship between shareholders, the workforce and the community," Derrick says.

To read about FSU's People First Campaign click here

   Visit the FSU

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 96 contents

Interview: The Enabler
On the eve of the release of his latest book, Beazley�s brain on the back-bench, Mark Latham, talks about putting the social back into socialism.

Unions: Flogged To Death
One third of Australian workers now work in conditions that would be deemed illegal in Europe. While in our workplaces so much is being done by so few with so little the Howard Government leans on its shovel reports Noel Hester.

Corporate: Nike's Six Broken Promises
A new international report on the labour practices at Nike have placed their stated commitment to ethical employment under the microscope.

International: Jagath at the Solidarity Cafe
When the brave workers at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta marched on May Day, a Sydney unionist was by their side.

Education: The Battle for Free Thought
The recent sacking of Dr Ted Steele at the University of Wollongong has focused attention on the need for vigilant defence of employment rights and academic freedom.

History: Federation and Labour
The labour movement�s role in the 1897 Federal Convention and the subsequent referenda process has been largely forgotten.

Satire: Addict Stops Using Smack After Talk With Parents
A 21-year-old heroin addict has agreed to give up his habit after his parents told him that using drugs was wrong.

Review: Rouge or Red?
Mark Hebblewhite argues that the new Baz Luhrmann blockbuster isn't without its class analysis.

» WorkCover: Della Should Split the Package

» HIH Workers Win Severance Guarantee

» Abbott Runs From OEA Failure

» Angry Musos Aim Riffs at Della

» Second Prize In The Arnott�s Sell-Out

» Banks Workers Opt for People Over Pay

» Bosses Raise Stakes in State Wage Case

» Refugee Riots Sparked By Strike Action

» Vodafone Promotes It�s Own

» Champion Workers Left With Nothing

» Bid for Reasonable Hours to AIRC

» Political Economy Courses at Sydney University

» Activist Notebook

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» New Editorial Guidelines

» Letter to Canberra

» A Fowler Smell

» Who Saved May Day?

Notice Board
- Check out the latest events

Latest Issue

View entire latest issue
- print all of the articles!

Previous Issues

Subject index

Search all issues

Workers Online - 2nd place Labourstart website of the year

LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW

URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/96/news4_people.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

[ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ]

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW