What do Bank Staff think of ICTU's Campaign against them?

D

Deas

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Given the nature of this site, I'm sure there are many bankers both contributing to it and reading it regularly. I have a question for you. ICTU's current campaign 'Get Up Stand Up' specifically targets you as an element of what's wrong in society. My question has two facets - How do you feel about being targeted like this and why is your union (provided you are in it), IBOA/Unite etc. who are affiliated to ICTU allowing you to be targeted?

If we look at wider society, you can guarantee that ICTU would not dare target any other specific group, Nurses/teachers etc. when problems occur in the Health/Education services, so why the bank staff when there is a problem in the banking sector/economy.

I'm also very surprised that the Institute of Bankers has not picked up on this as the largest professional body in the country (anyone who is a member is a banker, which includes most if not all front-line bank staff in the country).

I know if I was in one of the unions supporting bankers I would feel agrieved, so how do others feel?
 
Fortunately, we're an easy target. However, as I tend to ignore anything that ever comes out of a unions mounth (i.e. increase taxes...don't cut pay!!) I didn't even know they were targetting bankers!
 
I suppose in the same way that when "high earners" are talked about we're supposed to perceive super rich evil CEOs with off shore accounts and not the Union leaders themselves, when they mention "bankers" we're supposed to think of thieving CEOs and not all those in the banking sector.

Of course it could well just be a straw man argument in order to create a new enemy for the public at large rather than the public servants.
 
You would want to be a sensitive soul to take it personally. They are not talking about ordinary bank staff. They are talking about bank executives and even as a banker myself, I find it hard to have any sort of sympathy for them.
 
You can understand why ICTU are using bankers to get people behind their campaign. There is a lot of resentment out there that even though the banks got us into this mess, some banks have the gall to give pay rises to staff and there have been few compulsory job losses or salary cuts in the banking sector.

Personally I dont buy the "its not the fault of the ordinary bank employee" line. This is akin to the "I was only following orders" defence at the Nurenberg Trials. Every employee in every bank in Ireland contributed and benefited, to a greater or lesser extent, to the banking culture that prevailed. Also, its not as if the people running the banks were outsiders brought in at executive level. As we have seen in recent reports, the majority are lifers with their banks who joined as regular employees. So there must be some systemic issues within Irish banking if these are the people that the system produces.
 
Sunny said:
You would want to be a sensitive soul to take it personally. They are not talking about ordinary bank staff. They are talking about bank executives and even as a banker myself, I find it hard to have any sort of sympathy for them.
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They are not saying this though, they specifically quote bankers, not Bank Executives/Management/topline in their campaign material.
 

So bank employees are comparable to Nazis? Tell me what a bank teller in your local branch did to contribute to the crisis or what any ordinary bank employee did. I obviously missed the regulator and the central bank and the Government and most economists shouting stop the maddness. And yet someone on €20k a year was supposed to save the Country?


Deas said:
They are not saying this though, they specifically quote bankers, not Bank Executives/Management/topline in their campaign material.
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Let them off. I couldn't care less.
 
csirl said:
there have been few compulsory job losses or salary cuts in the banking sector.

.
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I know of plenty of salary cuts that haven't made the papers and you will get your wish about compulsory job losses if you are patient.
 
Tell me what a bank teller in your local branch did to contribute to the crisis or what any ordinary bank employee did
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In my branch, they were asking every customer who appeared at the counter if they'd like a bank loan, credit card, mortgage etc. To be honest, at times it was difficult to go into the bank, do your business and leave - you often had to be very rude just to cut the sales pitch short. I would imagine that a lot of vulnerable people would have given into the sales pitches.
 

So it is the bank tellers fault that mature adults made a decision to take on more debt or whatever they signed up for. If anyone mis-selled, they should never work in banking again but I don't see the problem with trying to sell products.
Anyway, not exactly the cause of the current crisis is it though. Can't really see Liam Carroll popping into his local branch and asking a 21 year bank employee for a couple of billion.
 
Sunny said:
You would want to be a sensitive soul to take it personally. They are not talking about ordinary bank staff. They are talking about bank executives and even as a banker myself, I find it hard to have any sort of sympathy for them.
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+ 1 , they are talking about decision makers.
 
Sunny said:
So it is the bank tellers fault that mature adults made a decision to take on more debt or whatever they signed up for. If anyone mis-selled, they should never work in banking again
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So if you exclude all those who were misselling, how many are left?
 
Complainer said:
So if you exclude all those who were misselling, how many are left?
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You are the same person who moans in every thread about generalisations in the public sector aren't you? Have you ever been mis-sold a financial product?
 
csirl said:
Personally I dont buy the "its not the fault of the ordinary bank employee" line. This is akin to the "I was only following orders" defence at the Nurenberg Trials.
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I agree but seems like everyone was getting a bonus of some kind so nobody wanted to speak against the goose with the golden eggs.
likewise people did not have to buy a house. Anyone who bought into the hype only have themselves to blame not anyone else. Nobody made anyone else buy a house. I know a few people who believed house prices were inflated and are now in a good position and are waiting still renting. For some reason unions are using this to justify their members not been able to take pay cuts, when nobody only themselves signed on the dotted line. Cant blame the banks for that when there are plenty on people who didn't buy into their bull over the last 10 years.
 
csirl said:
there have been few compulsory job losses or salary cuts in the banking sector.
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Lots of job losses in the bank I work in.... actually horrible time in here since last June... All the big fish have been sorted with big pay offs though and all the little goldfish like me where all basically told apply for another job in here or get the hell out. People treated like dogs.........
Also did you see in Anglo Irish the **** redundancy package they are being "offered"... Sure its all compulsory in the end like
 

Can't really give out about the redundancy package when plenty of people are lucky to get statutory. The bank failed. There has to be consequences. Obviously not for the executives though because they are very important people and it wasn't really their fault.
 
Sunny - the executives will get the nice pay off, where the likes of back office people who dont have any involvment in the lending process etc will suffer.........................
 
BONDGIRL said:
Sunny - the executives will get the nice pay off, where the likes of back office people who dont have any involvment in the lending process etc will suffer.........................
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Four weeks on top of statutory per year of service is generous considering the Bank has been Nationalised. I am all for executives being made pay for the mistakes but at the end of day businesses fail every day and workers are kicked out onto the street with no package. I know some people in Anglo and they have no complaints.
 
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