Media Opportunity
Wendy Streets, Acting FSU National Secretary will address 140 delegates
10.50am, 9 June 2010
Jasper Hotel Conference Room, 489 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) today revealed that the bank worker results from the Better Banking survey shows workers are under very high levels of stress and are concerned about their customers.

Acting FSU National Secretary, Wendy Streets, said that bank workers uniformly reported being under constant pressure to sell more products to customers, feeling unable to provide the level of customer service they would like to provide, and having concerns about customers’ capacity to manage their debt.

“This constant pressure that sales targets put on bank workers is why we are calling for the selling of credit and financial products to be decoupled from remuneration outcomes. The remuneration practices of banks are recognised as one of the major reasons for the GFC.

“This is the reform that all the G20 nations can and should agree upon – eradicating remuneration driven practices that are focused on short-term sales volumes, rather than customer and community best interest.

“Workers also said they feel customer service is getting worse and is not a priority for their employers and that they are made to sell more debt to products customers who don’t ask for them and may not be able to afford them.

 “Banks must stop these profiteering practices that put their employees and customers under increasing pressure.  

The survey found:
79% say Australia needs tougher regulations to stop personal debt getting out of control
82% support new, global rules to prevent high-risk banking activities
73% said their sales targets increase every year and only 4% said targets were reduced if economic conditions deteriorate.
90% support delinking sales targets and remuneration
43% say they are under pressure to sell debt products, even if customers don’t ask for them or may not be able to afford them.

Other results revealed:  
- 57% think understaffing prevent them doing the job as they would
- 66% say their customers get angry because of delays caused as a result of jobs being sent offshore
- 93% want a commitment to stop offshoring Australian jobs
- 89% say that the gap between CEO’s salaries and ordinary workers’ salaries has gotten too big

The Finance Sector Union will release the full results of the Better Banking Survey along with the Charter of Better Banking in a report to be presented to a union delegates meeting in Melbourne today.

 “Each element of the charter had very strong support from both workers and customers.

“So there is a simple message to Government and politicians. It is in the interests of the Australian community for regulation to be imposed to make banking better,” said Ms Streets.

Ends

More information on the survey is available at www.better-banking.org

Spokesperson:        Wendy Streets, Acting National Secretary, 0419 586 727
Media:                    Leanne Shingles, 0423 821 773