Unions call for better banking
(13 April 2010 – Australia) The Finance Sector Union in Australia and Finsec in New Zealand have teamed up to launch a major public survey on consumer banking.
The survey has been created by the unions to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinions of the banking sector, as consumer debt continues to soar and interest rates keep rising.
Australians and New Zealanders owe more than A$50 billion on credit cards, up from about A$14 billion in 1999.
Over the same period, the gap between Reserve Bank rates and mortgage rates has grown 57 percent in Australia and in New Zealand the gap has grown by 87 percent.
Leon Carter, national secretary, Finance Sector Union (FSU) said that bank workers are committed to better banking. But what consumers might not know is that even basic salary increases at banks are routinely tied to meeting aggressive sales targets for high-debt products like credit cards.
With interest rates going up and banks showing less respect for Reserve Bank decisions, it’s time to ask why consumer debt is so high and what can be done, Mr Carter added.
On both sides of the Tasman, the ratio of household debt to disposable income has soared to around 160 percent. In 2009, Australian consumer debt exceeded GDP for the first time.
Andrew Casidy, Finsec’s general secretary, said that loading people up with debt they can’t afford can’t go on forever. With this survey, the two unions want to help explain why the debt crisis is so bad and work with consumers to wake up governments to fix it.
Mr Casidy said bank workers don’t want to push endless debt onto consumers who can’t pay. And that they share consumers’ concerns over sky-high executive salaries that reward short-term thinking.
Whether it’s sending another job abroad or loading another family up with debt they can’t afford, the banking sector needs change. Because the way we’re going is not sustainable, Mr Carter added.
Mr Carter noted the irony in major banks like ANZ and NAB spending millions on promoting how un-bank-like they are, while continuing to do exactly what makes people angry at banks.
Something is wrong when banks and governments keep talking about how badly banks behave but do nothing to change it. The joint unions look forward to showing what consumers and workers really think to Prime Ministers and CEOs, because the time for better banking is now, Mr Carter concluded.
Australians and New Zealanders owe more than A$50 billion on credit cards, up from about A$14 billion in 1999.
Over the same period, the gap between Reserve Bank rates and mortgage rates has grown 57 percent in Australia and in New Zealand the gap has grown by 87 percent.
Leon Carter, national secretary, Finance Sector Union (FSU) said that bank workers are committed to better banking. But what consumers might not know is that even basic salary increases at banks are routinely tied to meeting aggressive sales targets for high-debt products like credit cards.
With interest rates going up and banks showing less respect for Reserve Bank decisions, it’s time to ask why consumer debt is so high and what can be done, Mr Carter added.
On both sides of the Tasman, the ratio of household debt to disposable income has soared to around 160 percent. In 2009, Australian consumer debt exceeded GDP for the first time.
Andrew Casidy, Finsec’s general secretary, said that loading people up with debt they can’t afford can’t go on forever. With this survey, the two unions want to help explain why the debt crisis is so bad and work with consumers to wake up governments to fix it.
Mr Casidy said bank workers don’t want to push endless debt onto consumers who can’t pay. And that they share consumers’ concerns over sky-high executive salaries that reward short-term thinking.
Whether it’s sending another job abroad or loading another family up with debt they can’t afford, the banking sector needs change. Because the way we’re going is not sustainable, Mr Carter added.
Mr Carter noted the irony in major banks like ANZ and NAB spending millions on promoting how un-bank-like they are, while continuing to do exactly what makes people angry at banks.
Something is wrong when banks and governments keep talking about how badly banks behave but do nothing to change it. The joint unions look forward to showing what consumers and workers really think to Prime Ministers and CEOs, because the time for better banking is now, Mr Carter concluded.
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