Unite: Finance workers protest against greed of banking bosses

Unite: Finance workers protest against greed of banking bosses

Unite: Finance workers protest against greed of banking bosses

Staff will protest outside the Treasury Select Committee Hearing:
Time: 9am
Date: Tuesday 10th February 2009
Location: Outside Portcullis House, Victoria Embankment
Unite members from across the financial services sector will today (Tuesday 10th February) protest outside a hearing where senior banking executives will be questioned.

The workers from banks and insurance companies will protest at the hearing of the Treasury Select Committee, where the chief executives of the largest finance companies are being questioned. Workers will say to the senior bankers: “Remember us? You’ve put our jobs at risk!”

Workers are angry that while executives award themselves bumper pay rises, their staff can earn as little as £12,000 and many are struggling to provide for their families.

Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary said: “These senior bankers have brought the UK’s financial services industry to its knees without any acknowledgement of the misery that they have caused the hard-working staff in the sector.

“Unite members across the country will no-longer stand by as the staggering greed and excesses of those at the top of this industry compromises the position of dedicated finance workers, who deserve fair pay.

“The Treasury Select Committee must ask tough questions of these ‘masters of disaster’ who have yet to be held to account on their role in the current financial crisis.

“There is public anger that these executives are continuing to receive what President Obama called ‘shameful’ bonuses. Yet workers face uncertainty that their jobs are at risk.

“Unite is demanding that the recent financial support from the government is tied to clear commitments to secure vital jobs and make the industry more transparent and accountable. Only then can the excesses of these bankers be reigned in. Our ‘Social Contract’ for the financial services sector sets out our demands for reforming the industry.”

– Ends –

For more information on the photo opportunity please contact: Saba Mozakka, Unite Press Office on: 020 7420 8916 or 07768 693 953

– Notes to Editors –

Staff will be wearing t-shirts and carrying placards saying: “Remember us? You’ve put our jobs at risk!”
Unite has drawn up a Social Contract for the financial services sector which is calling the Government and finance companies to adhere to. The five principles are:

1. Recognition of Unite as a key stakeholder in the future of the financial services industry.
2. To ensure the employment security of employees in the finance sector.
3. To protect and improve the terms and conditions of employees, including pension arrangements
4. End the remuneration packages of senior executives which reward short-termism and irresponsible risk taking.
5. Overhaul of the regulatory structures of the financial services sector to include trade union involvement in order to enhance the accountability of finance institutions.