Bank workers feel the pressure
(9 June 2010 – Australia) The Finance Sector Union’s (FSU) latest Better Banking survey has revealed that bank workers are under very high levels of stress and are concerned about their customers’ debt exposure.
Wendy Streets, acting national secretary for the FSU 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 the FSU is 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, Ms Streets highlighted.
The national secretary added that 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, Ms Streets noted.
The survey found that 79 percent of bank workers say Australia needs tougher regulations to stop personal debt getting out of control and 82 percent would support new, global rules to prevent high-risk banking activities.
Of the respondents 73 percent said their sales targets increase every year and only 4 percent said targets were reduced if economic conditions deteriorate.
A staggering 90 percent support delinking sales targets and remuneration, while 43 percent 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.
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 on Wednesday.
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.
This constant pressure that sales targets put on bank workers is why the FSU is 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, Ms Streets highlighted.
The national secretary added that 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, Ms Streets noted.
The survey found that 79 percent of bank workers say Australia needs tougher regulations to stop personal debt getting out of control and 82 percent would support new, global rules to prevent high-risk banking activities.
Of the respondents 73 percent said their sales targets increase every year and only 4 percent said targets were reduced if economic conditions deteriorate.
A staggering 90 percent support delinking sales targets and remuneration, while 43 percent 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.
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 on Wednesday.
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.
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