AUGUST 2011
TIME FOR A CULTURE SHIFT
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Billionaire financier, Warren Buffett, has urged the US administration to stop mollycoddling the mega-rich with over-generous tax breaks while squeezing the less well-off. See Page 4
UK banks are anxiously awaiting the publication of the final report of the Governmentappointed Independent Banking Commission headed by Sir John Vickers. See Page 7
• Toxic media hysteria • Ratings agencies under fire • Call centre operations in India to be reviewed • Business customers’ banking wish list • Controversy over salary cap See Pages 10-17
HIGH STAKES
BANK CHIEFS IN DENIAL
While former HBOS Chief Executive, Andy Hornby, has just been appointed to head the Coral’s gaming chain, the Former Ulster Bank chief, Cormac McCarthy has joined the Paddy Power board. See Page 6
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British banking leaders remain desperately slow to understand the need for a major change in the culture of their industry. See Page 8
• From counter to culture • Changing your career • Survey: culture of banking must change • Safety focus: stress • Safety focus: burn-out from boredom See Pages 18-27
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Keeping his head while all about him lose theirs, Bank of England boss, Mervyn King, draws on soccer analogies to explain the bank’s approach to interest rate policies. See Page 9
• IBOA leaner but keener • Training for a change • Union mourns death of heroic activist • Sports & social: upcoming • Meeting Mr. Tayto! • Building the Union See Pages 28-37
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• Anglo restructuring • NIB job security pledge • Talks under way at Northern Bank • Major review at Ulster Bank • BOI wins bew investment • AIB staff still waiting See Pages 38-45
Swipe for cash Fashion victims Exercise for kids Menus to count calories? Fitter or fatter: energy drinks in the dock • Nike: just pay it! See Pages 46-53
ARTS & LEISURE
• Film: Monkey see, monkey do! • Will Adele get the Elbow? • Sport: All Black to the Future • Crossword, Sudoku, Picture Board • UltraViolet See Pages 54-63
The retrenchment of Irish banking is beginning to gather pace. The catalogue of failure already includes almost 1,000 job losses in Ulster Bank, 750 redundancies generated by the closure of Halifax (and a similar number to be lost when Bank of Scotland Ireland eventually winds down), 150 redundancies in National Irish Bank and a restructuring agreement to cut 750 jobs across the Bank of Ireland Group. Staff in the recently merged Anglo Irish Bank-INBS institution are now digesting the implications of their management’s proposals to reduce employment by a further 350 as the wind-down process continues. In addition to these job cuts, up to 4,000 posts that have been extinguished in Irish banking as a result of non-replacement of staff on retirement or resignation and the non-renewal of contracts for temporary staff. At the same time, Northern Bank has opened talks with IBOA on a Transformation Programme while Ulster Bank’s recently
installed Chief Executive is currently finalising a further operational review. Meanwhile, of course, IBOA members in AIB Group still anxiously await details of the restructuring plan which is intended to seek around 2,000 job cuts. Developments in Ireland reflect significant job cuts on the international stage. HSBC has just announced a plan to cut 30,000 jobs by 2015 – while Lloyds Banking Group is seeking 15,000 more redundancies – bringing its jobs toll to over 40,000 since the crisis began. UBS wants 5,000 job losses from their global operations while Credit Suisse has also announced 2,000 cuts. Bank of America is now seeking 5,000 job losses world-wide. Reported cuts of 200 posts at RBS seem quite modest in comparison. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is reported to be seeking a further 1,000 redundancies after the purging of 5% of its traders in March, while Morgan Stanley is also expected to announce job reductions shortly.
Cover Picture: Crann an Oir - The Tree of Gold at the Central Bank in Dublin. The sculptor, Eamon O’Doherty, who was also responsible for the Anna Livia Fountain and the statue of James Connolly at Beresford Place in Dublin, died in August.
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Job cuts – order of day across banking sector
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British banking group, Lloyds, has recently announced a further 15,000 redundancies.
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Wizards of Oz?
Billionaire financier wants more wealth taxes
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Billionaire financier, Warren Buffett, who has been acclaimed as the third richest individual in the world, has called on the US Government to stop mollycoddling the “mega rich” like himself and to introduce fair taxation. Calculating his personal effective tax rate at 17.4% – compared to 33% to 41% for many of his employees at Berkshire Hathaway finance house – Buffett has called on the US political establishment to “get serious about shared sacrifice.” He said that the mega rich would not mind being told to pay more in taxes “particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.”
Buffett’s latest intervention follows the recent bitter political wrangling in the US Congress over tackling the debt issue – which resulted in the downgrading of the US’s AAA rating by Standard and Poors. While commentators in Europe have pointed out that if European style rates of personal taxation were introduced in the US, the debt problem could be quickly resolved, the Republican
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Australia’s larger banks are now rated as some of the most profitable in the world, according to the annual report of the Bank of International Settlements. Australian banks have achieved wider profit margins than any institutions of similar size in other countries.
RBS faces two law-suits in US Warren Buffett majority in the US House of Representatives – fired up by the ideological dogmatism of the Tea Party – are resolutely opposed to any increases in taxation – preferring instead to introduce substantial cuts in State expenditure on health and education. Critics of this approach – including Buffett – believe it is unfair to foist America’s debt burden on the most vulnerable while the rich get off “scot free.”
RBS faces two lawsuits in the US seeking damages of over $1 billion for allegedly misleading credit unions over bonds backed by “liar’s loans.” The latest suit – filed in a Los Angeles court last month by the National Credit Union Administration over the sale of mortgage bonds to Westcorp Credit Union – alleges that the loans featured “systemic” misrepresentations about borrowers’ incomes, debt and equity. A similar suit was filed against RBS a month earlier over losses incurred by the US Central Corporate Credit Union in Kansas.
Half pay bills late every month in Republic – survey Nearly half of people in the Irish Republic are late paying at least one bill every month, according to a survey undertaken by the Irish League of Credit Unions. The survey was conducted for the League’s second disposable income tracker index of 2011, entitled What's Left?, which aims to assess levels of disposable income, patterns of expenditure and the financial hardships facing people in Ireland. According to the survey, of those who have less than 5% of their income left after essential bills are paid, a staggering 45% said they no longer see
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a future for themselves or their families in Ireland. 82% of the same group say they do not think they will be able to cope with any further changes to social welfare rates or income tax. The survey took place after the European Central Bank’s interest rate rise in April but before the rate rise in July. Those surveyed were asked how a further interest rate rise would affect them – with 21% saying it would have a serious impact on their ability to meet bills. 6% said they could not pay their mortgage and utility bills if there was a further rate rise.
210,000 people unable to pay essential bills
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RBS Americas Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
RBS has 60 days to submit a written plan of how it will tighten up risk management to comply with requirements set by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which monitors potential money laundering activities. The move by the Federal Reserve comes a year after the British banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), fined RBS £5.6m for failing to operate adequate customer screening to prevent its banks being used for money laundering or financing terrorist activities.
“RBS is well advanced in addressing the deficiencies noted by the US banking authorities and in continuing to upgrade our governance and compliance systems throughout the group,” said its Chief Executive, Stephen Hester.
More Dirty Linen Britain’s banking regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is considering penalising two UK banks after it found major lapses in their procedures to combat illegal money laundering. The FSA said that some institutions were prepared to risk handling the proceeds of crime rather than turn down business from high-risk wealthy clients.
JP Morgan Securities is to pay $153.6 million to settle claims that it had tricked investors into buying toxic mortgages before the property market crashed. The American Securities and Exchange Commission said that JP Morgan created and sold a “synthetic collateralised debt obligation” without informing investors that a hedge fund, which helped to select the assets, was set to benefit if the assets defaulted.
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The US Federal Reserve has ordered Ulster Bank’s parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland, to improve oversight of its US operations – including controls to prevent illegal money laundering.
JP Morgan pays $153m. over toxic mortgages
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RBS warned over money laundering risks in US
Up to 1,000 jobs are at risk in Ireland with another 4,000 in Britain following the recent decision by Bank of America to dispose of its MBNA credit card business based in Carrick-on-Shannon and Chester. As MBNA is reputedly the biggest credit card operator in Europe – with £11.6bn in loans through its own card as well numerous affinity cards supplied to charities, sports clubs and other bodies – it is expected that Bank of America will have no difficulty in finding a buyer. However, if the disposal results in a merger with an existing credit card business, significant job losses may ensue.
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MBNA disposal puts 5,000 jobs at risk
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Investment bankers anticipate bonus boom from rising fee income International investment banks based in the City of London are preparing to provide substantial bonuses to staff after securing major increases in fee income. Despite widespread discontent over their charges, investment banks have already achieved a total of $48.9bn (£30.5bn) in fees in the first six months of 2011, according to a recent study by Thomson Reuters. Up 23% on the same period last year, this level of fee income was the best first half-year since 2007. According to Thomson Reuters, six of the top ten feeearning banks were American. While JP Morgan was the biggest earner with $3.4bn, or nearly 7% of the total, Morgan Stanley was the fastest growing with its total of $2.7bn fees – representing a 48.9% increase on the first six months of 2010.
Analysts have suggested that senior bankers are likely to expect massive payouts again – even though new rules require that some of the bonus should be deferred and paid in shares. It has also raised again the controversial issue of the bonus culture – with British Trades Union Congress General Secretary, Brendan Barber (left), observing that: “The large increase in fees collected by UK banks show that the good times are rolling in the City again. “This will astonish the millions of credit-starved businesses and people struggling for a mortgage, who can’t persuade the banks to lend,” added the union leader. “A healthy banking sector should be encouraging business investment and growth, not just its own profits and bonus pool,” said Barber.
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RBS probe widens The UK's Financial Services Authority has broadened the scope of its investigation into the reversal of fortune of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to include a review of its controversial take-over of the US bank, Charter One, in 2004. The British regulator’s decision to discuss the take-over with RBS investors highlights its determination to uncover how one of the world’s largest banks collapsed to the point where it needed support to the tune of £45 billion from the British taxpayer.
After ‘a pizza’ the action Hugh Osmond, the founder of the Pizza Express fast food chain in the UK is believed to be part of the Sun Capital private equity group which is bidding for the 632 branches being sold off by Lloyds Banking Group at the behest of the EU Commission.
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Banking to gambling
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Andy Hornby
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Former HBOS Chief Executive, Andy Hornby, may have found his true calling at last. After the sad end to his tenure in Halifax-Bank of Scotland – which was acquired by Lloyds at the behest of the British Government – Hornby moved to the pharmaceutical retailer, Alliance Boots. But he has now forsaken the drugs industry to head the Coral gaming chain – which includes casinos, bingo and bookmaking businesses. So Hornby’s wheel has come full circle – back in the business of gambling – rather like former Ulster Bank chief, Cormac McCarthy, who has just joined the board of bookmakers, Paddy Power.
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Breaking up is hard to do … but UK banks may be divided soon to ensure they are not “too big to fail”
Sir John Vickers: chairman of the UK’s Independent Banking Commission could drive up the cost of borrowing and reduce the UK's competitive advantage over other financial sectors abroad – with the wider public interest to ensure that taxpayers are not in effect being required to underwrite any future reckless acts on the part of senior executives.
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The tougher line will undoubtedly find favour with the UK’s Business Secretary, Vince Cable, who has been a long-standing advocate of a complete legal separation of the functions of the banks. Cable, who was himself a member of an earlier independent commission, believes this is the most effective way to remove the notion that any institution is “too-big-to-fail” and, therefore, entitled to taxpayer support whenever they run into difficulties. The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, is also known to be highly sceptical about the benefits claimed for “universal” banking. However, the final decision on the Commission’s proposals will be taken by the UK Government, which will have to balance the banks’ claim that ring-fencing
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The UK’s Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) is now likely to defy the big banks by proposing more thorough “ring fencing” of their retail and investment banking activities than was previously expected. If the Commission’s final report on 12 September produces even more stringent guidelines than were signalled in its interim report earlier this year – it is likely to generate increased hostility from the major banks, with renewed threats of transferring their head offices out of the UK. The Commission, which is chaired by Sir John Vickers, was established by the British Government to review the operations of the banking sector in the light of the recent crisis and make recommendations for the future.
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One of the UK’s most senior financial regulators is highly critical of senior banking executives who have failed to recognise the need for a major change in the sector’s culture to restore its reputation with consumers. Director of Enforcement and Financial Crime at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Margaret Cole, said that the standards of the financial services sector would not be tolerated in other businesses. “If a supermarket sold rotten food to its customers, how long would it stay in business?,” she asked. “Expectations around the quality of service to customers of financial services should be just as high if not higher.” Cole added that it was “somewhat alarming” that officials from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said recently that the industry
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Margaret Cole, Director of Enforcement and Financial Crime at the UK’s Financial Services Authority. unless firms changed. “We senior industry figures at the was not sure what mistakes are concerned that they have event. had been made over paynot fully understood that.” The “penny hasn’t ment protection insurance – “Radical change requires dropped” with key figures, in the mis-selling of which is a change in attitude not the sector, she said, that the expected to lead to three just by regulators but also impetus for promoting a million compensation claims by senior management of “culture of responsibility in being lodged with the major financial firms. They must firms” has to come from the retail banks and a final paymake real their commitment top. out of up to £9 billion. to give consumers a better FSA Chief Executive, Speaking at the launch service,” said Sants. Hector Sants, who is to run the of the Financial Conduct “They must commit to Prudential Regulatory Authority Authority (FCA) – which is to run their firms for the benefit – the other body being spun be spun out of the FSA next of society as a whole and not out of the regulator – added year with new powers to ban for the short-term benefit of that regulatory changes alone products to protect consumers employees or shareholders.” could not protect customers – Cole noted the absence of
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Banking execs still don’t get it – regulator
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Citigroup executive on fraud charge in New York Former Citigroup Vice President, Gary Foster, has been charged in New York with embezzling over $19m from his employer. Foster is accused of having abused his position in the bank’s internal treasury finance department to channel funds from a number of Citigroup accounts into his own personal account. If convicted, Foster could face jail time of up to 30 years.
King’s point is that, while Maradona’s run is often seen as a mazy dribble, he basically ran in a straight line – but beat his opponents because they were expecting him to swerve. The Bank can do the same thing, according to King, by remaining constant when the markets expect it to change course. But Michael Barr of JP Morgan believes it would
be more accurate to compare the Bank’s approach to Diego Maradona’s more notorious (in England, at least) “hand of God” goal in the same match. With its subtle alterations to its inflation forecasts, the Bank may not be quite so blatant, according to Barr, “but it is certainly lingering in an offside position hoping not to be flagged.”
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Governor of the Bank of England. Mervyn King, used to compare the Bank to Argentinian football legend, Diego Maradona’s second spectacular goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, when he picked up the ball on the halfway line, beat a succession of English defenders before scoring past Peter Shilton.
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HSBC has agreed to pay $62.5m to settle a legal action in New York brought by some of the victims of Bernie Madoff’s fraudulent Ponzi scheme. The settlement covering investors in the Dublin-based Thema fund should not be construed as an admission of liability, according to HSBC.
Dribble it like Diego!
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HSBC pays out $62.5m. to scam victims
Argentinian soccer star, Diego Maradona (left) and Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England (above).
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David Lemon casts a wary eye over the ratings agencies and their notorious reputation for insisting they are right even when they are wrong. See Page 12
SANTANDER UK TO RELOCATE INDIAN CALL CENTRES TO BRITAIN BUSY BODIES
Santander UK has decided to relocate its call centre operations from India to Britain – eight years after the company’s predecessor, Abbey, exported the business to the subcontinent. While the decision by Chief Executive, Ana Botin (above) is understood to be motivated primarily by the desire to improve service to customers, it also happens to coincide with renewed fears about the security of account data for the customers of a number of British banks with call centres in India. See Page 14
PwC FACING FINE FOR $23bn BANK ERROR
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An informal survey of business opinion by the Department of Finance has revealed a lengthy wish list including longer bank opening hours. See Page 16
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PricewaterhouseCoopers is now facing the largest fine ever imposed on an accountancy firm in the UK after admitting that it failed to notify the Financial Services Authority that the US bank had not properly ring-fenced up to $23 billion in client funds over a seven year period. While a disciplinary board is still to decide the penalty to be imposed on PwC, analysts believe that it could run to tens of millions of pounds.
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RBS RESTRICTS ATM USAGE
CAP STILL FITS IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, says that Matthew Elderfield’s call for an easing of the E500,000 salary caps for banking executives “beggars belief.” See Page 17
Up to 8,000 RBS customers in the UK have been barred from using cash machines operated by rival financial institutions. Recent policy changes introduced by the banking group mean that holders of its “basic” account will only be able to withdraw money from ATMs operated by RBS – which include NatWest and Tesco installations. Basic customers will also be able to make withdrawals from the Post Office. Not quite the “helpful banking” promoted in the recent NatWest advertsing campaign!
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clearly wrong. However, since these leaders have been largely inaccessible, some members of the public have regarded bank officials as the most convenient punch-bags available. It is curious that, although nurses are very rarely considered by the general public to be responsible for the critical situation in the health service, the public are not willing to draw a similar distinction when it comes to finance staff. Maybe it is because these employees are required to stick to the official line from Head Office at all times – but it may also be explained by the perverted news values operating in some sections of the media which try to present bank staff as privileged and pampered employees enjoying the same kind of high life as their bosses while the rest of the country struggles in penury.
Even though many of those who propagate this image of finance staff are themselves earning far more than the average bank official, it is remarkable how many of their readers are prepared to accept all the hype – just a couple of years after many of these commentators were effectively cheerleaders for the now discredited banking bosses. Many people seem to be willing to believe anything they read in the newspaper – no matter how improbable – as long as it fits their own prejudices about an issue. The recent coverage of the outcome of a Labour Court Recommendation on a claim by former Irish Nationwide staff is a case in point. According to one daily newspaper, IBOA members were threatening to strike – even though the paper was
clearly told that the Union would have to consult fully with its members to determine their response to the Court decision. Another round of “banker bashing” was triggered by a story that some bank staff may be about to receive uniforms. An employee receiving work clothes would not normally rate as “news” – but if the worker is a bank official in a now State-owned bank, then suddenly it becomes an issue of vital public importance. Just because an item may be of passing interest to the public, it does not mean that it is in the public interest. An unrelenting diet of hype and hysteria is unlikely to stimulate the broad community spirit which is vital to meet the challenge of the current economic and social crisis.
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The last thing you need in a highly volatile situation is to throw more fuel on the fire – but in some sections of the media, the need to “sex up” relatively innocuous developments is threatening to create a popular culture which leads people to take offence at the merest slight – real or imagined! This is not the most conducive environment for working through a crisis. Staff in the financial services sector have been on the receiving end of public anger which should have been directed at banking leaders for their reckless mismanagement of their businesses which has had such a traumatic effect on the economy. While the level of anger is entirely understandable – indeed bank officials, themselves, feel equally betrayed by the actions of their onetime bosses – the target is
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Media hysteria is toxic!
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MATTER OF OPINION
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There was great surprise in the financial markets recently when one of the ratings agencies downgraded its outlook on US national debt to negative and warned of a strong likelihood that the country would lose its coveted AAA rating. Up until that point I had thought an AAA rating was a sailor from Liverpool! While the markets may have been surprised the big surprise for me was that anybody paid a blind bit of notice to anything the ratings agencies said any more.
Do you remember how they shouted dire warnings from the rooftops as countries increased their borrowing all the way through the 1990s and 2000s? No, me neither. They could have saved us from all this sovereign debt heartache by slashing their precious ratings ten years ago, when the sums owing would at least have been more manageable. They were still giving a coveted AAA rating to bonds from insurance giant, AIG, a mere three months before the
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IBOA member, David Lemon, casts a wary eye over the recent record of the ratings agencies.
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company went bust. Naturally a severe downgrade on the rating ensued. Enron was assigned an ‘investment grade’ rating four days before it went belly up, despite known problems. Just imagine for one moment that the economies of Ireland or Greece were buildings. Do the agencies call the fire brigade when the fire in the waste paper basket has spread to the curtains? “Hold on Fred, it’ll probably burn itself out.” Do they phone them when the flames are licking out of second floor windows? “Not so fast Fred, the wind looks like it’s dying down and rain is forecast for next week.”
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The following week, when sufficient numbers of people have been badly burned, Fred finally decides to throw caution to those same winds and calls in the emergency services to deal with the smouldering wreck. The agencies grandly announce to the world that a country, or a company, is in trouble when the world and his wife already know that it’s a smouldering wreck. They’ve probably got computer programmes that track the defecation habits of bears in woodland too. What these geeks do is plug a few figures into a computer programme and spew out opaque ratings like AAA, AAB-, BBB+, B, A- and, for all I know.
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Another option would be to have ratings expressed as bookmakers’ odds so that the average punter could easily determine if he or she was betting on Kauto Star (Germany) or Delaney’s Donkey (Zimbabwe). Alternatively why not introduce a greater aura of mystique, smoke and mirrors and instead of just using the plus and minus symbols throw in the divide and multiply symbols as well? In this case Ireland’s rating would be (A-C-) +BB x (BBa ÷ CCa3). Of course the answer would still be ‘stony broke’ but just think of the opportunity for manipulating the stock market while the traders interpreted it.
The Lemon Index AAA moderately incompetent AA demonstrates outstanding ability to state the obvious A computer literate and solid reputation for corporate entertaining BBB recognised industry leader at producing incoherent tosh BB fully incompetent, and inaccurate to boot, but well presented B displays world class standards of ineptitude CCC bungling and impenetrable but quite funny CC needs locking up C mad, bad and dangerous Funnily enough, similar ratings could be applied equally well to tabloid journalists, senior bankers and politicians!
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‘Rate the Raters’
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Some agencies have ratings like Baa, Caa and then complicate these by appending a 1, 2 or 3 to indicate the relative position within a particular rating. Baa3 is apparently better than Ba2 but whether it’s better than B1 I have no idea. Use of lower case and upper case seems to be important to some of them but they all seem to use nutcase. You really would have to wonder why, if they are so smart, they couldn’t have devised a simple scale, say from 1 to 100 and for all agencies to use the same scale. And if a country is at No.1 then lend them all the zillions you have made from betting on the stock market fluctuations, caused by agency ratings announcements. Money from America, er, on the pig’s back, eh Fred? But if they’re at No.96 then insist on hostages.
The names of the agencies are also interesting. Standard and Poor should perhaps be a description of the entire industry, while a Moody rating suggests that it has been determined in a fit of pique. “Hey Fred, those tacos were awful last night so Mexico is going down to Caa. Or is that up Fred?” Fitch sounds like something that would irritate the life out of you – spot on. Fitch even has an associate company called Duff and Phelps. I can only assume Mr. Phelps replaced Mr. Pointless to mitigate the risk of the company becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then we have A M Best – not to be confused with I Am Best, of course. By now I am quite sure that the scientific rigour applied to this article will have convinced you that the ratings agencies are useless, pointless and irritating and that their credibility is matched only by that of tabloid journalists, senior bankers and politicians. So, what are we to do about them? I think they need to be brought down a peg or two, perhaps to CCC, and that this could best be achieved by the introduction of a Rate the Raters website where the general public, along with journalists, senior bankers and politicians could deliver their verdict. I would offer the ratings in the table to the left as my contribution to the debate.
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What’s in a name?
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Santander to close call centre
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One of the early trendsetters in this migration of customer contact operations was Abbey National which “exported” its call centre operation to India in 2003. However, following Abbey’s acquisition by the Spanishbased Santander Group, the new chief executive, Ana Botín (left), has undertaken a review of the call centre operation after Santander UK topped the tables for customer complaints collated by the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority. Even before The Sun exposé (see opposite) Botín had decided to return Santander’s call centre operations to Britain in a major effort to rebuild customer loyalty by enhancing levels of satisfaction with their personal interactions with the Bank. Santander’s decision appears to signal a reversal of the previous “offshoring” trend among financial institutions since it follows an earlier move by Lloyds to transfer its Indian call centre operations back to Britain. Other institutions may now follow suit if the revelations of The Sun investigation are shown to be well founded.
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About ten years ago, out-sourcing of call centre operations to India and other “off-shore” locations was all the rage in financial services and other key sectors of the economy – at major cost to the many staff who lost their jobs as a result. While many questioned the wisdom of this trend, the lure of cheap labour overcame any concerns about the difficulties for customers of trying to deal with staff operating in another country and another culture – whose understanding of local dialects and knowledge of colloquial English might be limited. However, a more serious charge of widescale security breaches – which have been highlighted by The Sun newspaper in Britain may add to the growing unease about the wisdom of transferring a key element in the relationship between a financial institution and its clients to an offshore location.
TAKE•A•BREAK Special discounts are available for IBOA members on hotel breaks throughout Ireland. Check out either of the IBOA websites on www.iboa.ie/ members/otherservices or www.iboa.org.uk/members/otherservices for further information on the special offers currently available to IBOA members. SPECTRUM
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The dealer was located via a website where sellers with access to call centre data, seek black market buyers. One seller who had previously worked in a call centre in Gurgaon, provided a “sample” of his merchandise by e-mail – a spreadsheet containing details of 21 customers from Barclays and Lloyds Banks. At a subsequent meeting with the undercover reporters, he explained that the data is ‘accessed’ from broadband when customers do a direct debit. And the price? For the name, number, address, bank name, sort code, account number – it is
25 pence for each bank customer. “It’s easy,” he told the reporters. “It’s big business.” Richard Hurley of the British anti-fraud organisation, CIFAS, said: “I am astounded. The information being traded is everything a criminal needs to clear out an account or steal an identity. That this is happening on an industrial scale is enough to make anyone shudder. This is a wake-up call. Security processes and staff vetting need to be reviewed,” he said. Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has now launched an investigation of the evidence provided by the newspaper.
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Back to the Future: A number of British and Irish businesses have relocated their customer service operations to India over the last decade – to avail of its cheap labour costs. However, with growing customer dissatisfaction over the quality of the service and new concerns over the security of sensitive data, some of these businesses have begun to return these operations to domestic locations.
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Thousands of customers’ bank and credit card details held by call centres in India are allegedly being sold for pennies, putting individuals’ confidential account details at a risk of being cleared out by rogues. In a major exposé, The Sun newspaper has revealed how dealers are offering to sell confidential data which they claim to have acquired from BPO call centre staff. In one instance, a dealer told an undercover reporter that he could sell the details of 80,000 customers every week and boasted that he already had British clients – including one who buys data on 1,000,000 bank customers every week. The newspaper’s undercover team bought key financial data for 1,000 British customers from one dealer for £250. The Sun claims its team was given bank account details, personal data and credit card numbers with the three-digit CVV security code, needed for use on the phone or web. They were even given online account passwords for some customers.
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BPO is the operator of one of the call centres implicated in the security breach.
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Give us more for longer – with less
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Business customers draw up wish list for Irish banking
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Irish business customers want longer banking hours, a mobile phone app about applying for a loan and a website offering investment opportunities for private lenders, according to a recent initiative conducted by the Republic’s Department of Finance. A list of suggestions from the Irish public on how to improve the number of SMEs applying for credit has been published by the Minister for Finance, with one idea being longer banking hours. As part of the Credit Suggestions Initiative, more than 100 ideas were sent in to the Department of Finance on how to get viable businesses to approach lenders for credit. Those taking part in the initiative said banks should open at the weekends to allow business customers to make transactions or hold meetings when their own businesses are closed. A limited number of these suggestions have been selected for further investigation by the Department of Finance with a view to development and implementation – although it remains to be seen exactly how already overstretched bank staff can be expected to facilitate extended opening hours with even fewer staff in the future!
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Most of the proposals put forward were in the areas of consumer education, trust and approachability of lenders, ease and consistency of applications and the cost and conditions of credit. Here’s a sample of some of the other suggestions:
It remains to be seen exactly how already overstretched bank staff can be expected to facilitate extended opening hours with even fewer staff in the future!
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• Design and implement a web site which would provide advice on the preparation of cash flow projections. • Set up another office similar to the Credit Review Office. Market its role as a Commercial Credit Intermediary which would put together a credit application on behalf of a business free of charge. Provide assurances of client confidentiality and second a number of experienced commercial bankers from all the banks to it. • Most companies are reluctant to apply and risk a refusal of credit on their records – this
reluctance might be overcome if they had a clearer idea on eligibility and availability. • SMEs do not know who is dealing with their accounts in the larger branches. There needs to be dedicated staff appointed to the SME accounts held in each branch in order to build trust between business and bank. • Banks should have representatives at shopping centres and marts, providing advice in a relaxed atmosphere to business owners and farmers on applying for credit. • There should be one single loan application form common to all banks in order to streamline the process and reduce accountancy costs. “My Department now has a list of suggestions that we can work with to encourage SMEs to apply for credit,” said Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, following the publication of the report.
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No passing the cap
Matthew Elderfield, Deputy Governor of the Republic’s Central Bank: His suggestion that it was now time to review the salary cap for the CEOs of those banks covered by the State guarantee elicited a robust response from IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick (Photo: James Horan/Photocall Ireland).
Current guidelines already allow banking CEOs to earn over 14 times the average annual salary for frontline bank officials
times the average annual salary for a frontline bank official. “A real solution can only come through meaningful engagement with employees and their representatives in order to facilitate a restructured banking system which protects the maximum number of jobs and preserves staff terms and conditions of employment in order to ensure that service to customers rather than the pursuit of sales targets is the key priority. “There is a case to be made for reviewing executive remuneration at this time. But rather than look to remove upper limits, it should focus on the overall value of the executive's contribution to the long-term success of the business rather than reward short-term gain at the expense of staff and customers. “Incentivising short-termism was at the root of the crisis in banking. What we need are pay mechanisms that reward consistent performance over a number of years – based on the principles of sound prudential banking –
rather than the pursuit of artificially engineered super-profits.”
Holding reckless to account Responding to Mr. Elderfield's comments on the likely difficulty of pursuing those who were responsible for the collapse of Irish banking, Mr. Broderick said that the fact that this may be difficult should not be used as an excuse for not proceeding. “In a country as notoriously litigious as the USA, the legal system has managed to bring Bernie Madoff to justice in a relatively prompt fashion without violating any of Mr. Madoff’s rights to due process, whereas in Ireland there is a growing fear that no-one will ever be held responsible for the catastrophe which has not only devastated Irish banking but has also seriously damaged the Irish economy." “Bank employees have more than a passing interest in seeing those who have brought their profession into such disrepute held to account for their reckless behaviour,” he concluded.
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Idea of pay rise for CEOs “beggars belief” – Broderick
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IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, strongly rejected the suggestion from the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, that the ¤500,000 a year salary cap on banking bosses’ pay should be lifted in order to attract new blood into Irish banking. “The suggestion that the salary cap should now go after just a couple of years simply beggars belief. “At a time when the banking industry is still contracting and with the likelihood that a further 6,000 bank staff could lose their jobs in addition to thousands already lost since 2008 and when workers throughout the Irish economy are being asked to make major sacrifices in terms of jobs and living standards, it is simply untenable that Irish banking cannot recover unless its leaders are allowed to earn in excess of ¤500,000. “The vacancy for a new Chief Executive in AIB appears to be attracting significant interest. despite the cap. So it is simply not true that we need to offer extravagant remuneration to attract good executives. “After all, it is worth remembering that those who presided over the reckless lending policies which have virtually bankrupted the sector and the economy were all extremely well rewarded. So high pay rates do not always guarantee high quality performance.” “Furthermore,” he said, “we have already had five different sets of consultants investigating each bank's finances. A range of consultants, including PWC and McKinsey, have also been engaged to work on the restructuring of the banking sector. “The succession of highly paid consultants being employed in Irish banking is giving rise to a growing perception that no expense is spared at the top of the industry while those at the lower end of these institutions – who are likely to have to bear the brunt of any restructuring of the sector – are effectively ignored. “The solution to the present challenges facing banking will not be found in breaching a guideline which already enables a Chief Executive to earn over 14
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CAREER GUIDANCE Eleanor Murphy offers eight helpful tips for anyone contemplating a career change – either on a forced or voluntary basis. See Page 21
IBOA HEALTH & SAFETY BODY
BANKING CULTURE MUST CHANGE
IBOA’s Executive Sub-Committee on Health, Safety and Security continues to monitor developments across the sector. See Page 26
The prevailing culture of the Irish financial service sector is firmly focused on sales rather than service – despite all the events of the recent past. A massive 84% of those who responded to the recent IR Research survey believe that in recent years their employer has focused on maximising profit at the expense of customers and staff. See Page 22
CRANBERRY STRESS CURE
BURNT OUT BY BOREDOM
The latest stress-busting food is cranberry – but what’s wrong with de-stressing work first by re-organising it? See Page 26
Recent research shows that not only are staff in high-stress roles prone to burn out. Boring jobs can get to you, too! See Page 27
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Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. Eleanor Roosevelt
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SAFER IN UNION Workplace injuries would be slashed 'at a stroke' if all workplaces had a Union health and safety rep, according to a new report from the British Trades Union Congress. See Page 27
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Counter To
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From
hen Karen Hendy decided to give up a steady, pensionable banking job in 2008 as the economy was about to go into recession, her colleagues thought she was mad. But the chance to pursue her passion as a painter was one she could not miss. Karen had first considered art as a possible career at secondary school in Kenmare and Athy. And though her inclination was to pursue a fine arts degree, her family circumstances meant that third-level studies were not really an option at that time. Her artistic leanings led her onto a FÁS-funded diploma course in printing and for a short while she went into a family-run business. However, a chance meeting with some young women who were bank officials prompted her to apply for a job.
Her first posting was as a temp in Bank of Ireland’s Credit Department in Dublin providing administrative support to the Loan Approval Committee. “The atmosphere was great in the credit department,” she recalled in a recent profile in The Irish Times. “The skills I had acquired during my print course translated well into becoming a typist. Because there were no laptops back then, every loan approval manager was assigned a typist.” When a further temporary post became available in 1994 a little closer to home Co. Kildare, Karen transferred to the Bank’s Newbridge branch where she was offered a permanent position shortly afterwards – working on accounts, processing transactions, handling telephone queries, and working on the customer service desk. “It was great to be in the thick of things and to be part of a team that pro-
vided an essential service,” she said. “But as the years went on, I realised I was just waiting for the day to fly by so that I could get home to paint.” Her continuing passion for art led her to apply for an evening certificate course in drawing and visual investigation at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin. “Travelling to Dublin three evenings a week to be in NCAD for 6.30pm was gruelling. I could have spent the day wrestling with large financial transactions or sorting out a customer’s current account,” she says. “Next thing I would be dashing out the door and belting up the motorway to make it on time for class. My colleagues were great and they supported me in getting the work finished on time.” As the NCAD course drew to a close in 2006, Karen decided to take a career break to become a full-time artist.
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After twelve years working in Bank of Ireland, Karen Hendy, gave it up for the chance to pursue her first passion – art (Photo: Dylan Vaughan).
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“Having the full day was just fantastic,” she said. “It gave me the precious time I needed to be very productive.” A portfolio of work submitted to Laois County Council resulted in a bursary that continued until 2008. The funding was not only of economic benefit to Karen – but also an important milestone in terms of wider recognition of her artistic merit. “Being awarded funding to help you work is a great boost for any artist,” she declared. Some of her work was also chosen for showings in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in Dublin, the Royal Ulster Academy (RUA) in Belfast and at the Carlow arts festival, Éigse. These successes were starting to make the prospect of a career as a full-time artist ever more real – but could she afford to take the leap? “My career break was coming to an end and decision time was looming – go back to my job in banking or be a full-time artist?” she said. “Over the years I had sold some of my work. While it is a wonderful feeling to be appreciated enough to be paid for what you do, for me knowing that my work is out there giving inspiration is my motivation. “The success I was enjoying was enabling me to continue what I was doing and that, of course, influenced my decision.” So after much soul-searching Karen decided to hand in her resignation. “It wasn’t exactly the ideal time to give up a steady, pensionable job with a recession just
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Above: Light Shineth in the Dark by Karen Hendy.
Below: Illusionary View by Karen Hendy.
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starting,” she recalled. “My bank colleagues were asking me was I mad.” As she had anticipated, the launch of her career change was a drain on her savings. “I had an SSIA account, so that helped. And, like every bank employee, I had bank shares and, like everyone else, I’m mad as hell to see my nest egg gone as a result of mismanagement and risk-taking. “As an artist I have to make a living like everyone else. The fulfilment I gain from my work means I am not driven by a need to consume. The bursary funding helps as well. “My work has sold well over the past few years and is still selling. So far, I haven’t been affected by the downturn. People who can afford to buy a piece of art they like are still buying.” Her work has now been featured in several exhibitions around Ireland as well as in Europe. Karen is very happy with her career change. “I am doing now what I always wanted to do. Along the way, I spent twelve years in banking. But I got here in the end.” “Compared to the regular hours of banking, this career is 10 hours a day, seven days a week. My 12 years as a banker allowed me to witness panic about money and I think that sealed my philosophy as an artist,” she said. “I am making a living from my art. I would like to feel I am not painting solely for commercial purposes but letting the ideas flow to wherever they take me.”
IBOA
Eight simple steps to a new career direction I
n a very short space of time, a career in banking has changed from being a secure ‘job for life’ to one of uncertainty and doubt, writes Eleanor Murphy.
More and more, I meet bank officials who have already been made redundant – or others who feel that this might be an appropriate time to explore other avenues – and perhaps enjoy greater security in the process. The trauma of losing a job or even the prospect of possible job loss – is devastating. Feelings of despair, helplessness and grief are understandable – perhaps even anger, embarrassment and fear. And in this spiral of anxiety and depression, contemplating future employment is virtually impossible.
1) Harness positivity and increase your productivity. Manage your job loss in a systematic way. It will increase your chances of embarking on a successful career change. 2) Get rid of any negative thoughts that will drag you down. They will only become embedded in your subconscious and undermine your confidence. Instead, adopt a good, positive mental attitude which is the key to future career success. 3) Know yourself. Know your core strengths, your abilities, your skills, your values, your interests, etc. By looking at your strengths, your values and your past successes, you will begin to feel more positive.
If you find yourself in this position, you have two choices. You can sit back, do nothing and remain negative. Or sit up, be proactive and fight back. It’s your call. Your future starts here – today. It’s time to change your thinking. Here’s a challenging thought for you.
Opportunity for reflection Could you regard redundancy as a potential gift rather than as a heartbreak? Could this be the chance to take a good hard look at yourself and ask if you’ve truly been working in a job that has best suited you, or that has used your talents and skills to the best effect? Most of us can get so focused on the day-to-day routine of doing our job to the best of our ability that we fail to take the time to ask ourselves these big, important questions.
Here are eight simple steps that you can take to help you write the next exciting chapter in your career story. If you feel overwhelmed by all this, but still have the fire in your heart, then seek professional assistance. Maybe some guidance or a sense of direction is all you need? Or perhaps you may need more in-depth analysis of your core skills and abilities. A final thought is that you contact a coach or mentor to advise you on how best to nurture your career quest. But whatever course of action you plan to take, make it sooner rather than later. Better still, make it today! Eleanor Murphy is a leading career development specialist. She can be contacted on 012887312/2880800 or by e-mail to: eleanor@cdsireland.ie
4) Have a vision. Dream your ideal job. What would you really love to do? Be as imaginative as you want, but keep your strengths, your values, your interests and your skills in focus. Maybe you have hidden talents. What kind of work environment suits you – working outdoors, working on your own, meeting new people? 5) Devise an action plan. See where it is that you would love to be in one, two or five years’ time – even right up to retirement. Build a bridge between where you are now and where you want to be. Have you the necessary skills, the competencies, the right attitude? Do you need to get your CV in order? Who will give you that information? Could you do voluntary work in a similar environment? Could you work from home?
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Do you need computer skills? The questions are quite numerous – but must be addressed. 6) Get informed. Change always seems scarier when you have either inadequate – or worse – inaccurate information. Research the internet, go to the local library, join relevant bodies – especially the ones that engage your interests. Talk to people who have started similar jobs or businesses, trained on similar courses, etc. Read relevant articles, publications, etc. The more informed you are, the more solid your bridge. 7) Take advantage of all training and educational opportunities. Consider online courses. Maybe a degree was always on your radar but you never had the chance to consider it further. Ensure that the courses are right for you, at the right level, and form part of your building blocks to your future career success. Also, consider informal ways of educating yourself by, for example, joining professional bodies, attending workshops and keeping up with trade publications in your field. 8) Update your CV, polish your interviewing skills and ensure you network. Networking is a great way of finding out what jobs are out there that may not necessarily be publicly advertised, and you’ll need to have your CV and interview skills up to scratch if the chance arises. You also may need to consider taking an interim job, like temporary work or consulting, or just a simple job to pay the bills while you are developing your new career path.
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Banking culture must change
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Survey reveals mistrust and low morale across financial services sector
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Workplace culture in the financial services sector has been identified as one of the contributory factors to the crisis in banking in many parts of the world including Ireland and the UK. Nevertheless, despite this recognition, concern is growing that these practices are continuing. For this reason, IBOA agreed to facilitate an independent consultancy, IR Research, to conduct a survey of financial service sector workers focussing on various aspects of workplace culture.
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Who responded? By Grade: 57% of the respondents were clerical staff; 12% were at Officer grade; 11% were Assistant Managers; 8% were Managers and 1% were in technical or higher managerial grades. 11% described themselves as “Others.” By Age: 23% were aged 25–34; 23% were between 35–44; 33% of respondents were aged between 45-54; and 19% between 55–64. Only 2% were under the age of 25 reflecting the slow-down in recruitment in recent years. By Gender: 74% of respondents were female while 26% were male. By Location: 79% of respondents were based in the Irish Republic with 17% in Northern Ireland and 5% from Great Britain. By Working Arrangements 69% were permanent full time employees; 24% were engaged in permanent part-time work or job sharing – while 6% were working atypical hours. None of the respondents were working on temporary contracts – reflecting the policy of non-renewal adopted by many employers in response to the current crisis. By Length of Service in Current Grade 26% of respondents indicated they were employed in their present grade for between 5 and 10 years; 25% between 10 and 20 years; 18% between 20 and 30 years; 18% between 1 and 5 years and 13% indicated the were employed at their current grade for over 30 years.
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And what did they say? T
he prevailing culture of the Irish financial services sector is firmly focussed on sales rather than service – despite all the events of the recent past. A massive 84% of those who responded to the IR Research survey either agree or strongly agree with the statement that in recent years their employer has focused on maximising profit at the expense of customers and staff. But only 38% agree that their bank or company has been focused on providing excellent service to customers – while a mere 12% agree in any way that their employer cares about the wellbeing of its employees. The impression created in the quantitative data is also broadly supported in the comments offered by a substantial number of respondents. “The pressure on staff to sell products is now worse than ever. Only sales count. Customers are being asked to go to their branch for a ‘financial needs review’ – but failure to sell the customer a product (at least one) is frowned upon and questioned by management. The new sales capability programme introduced recently is totally sales-focused and staff are individually monitored to ensure that every product is covered at the interview with the customer.” “Stress levels are at an all time high. Management do not care any more so long
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debt. They fail to acknowledge that a lot of people are in the financial position they are in, purely because of the reckless and cavalier actions of the banking sector. The practice of forcing people onto high interest loans to clear their debts is, in my opinion, extortion.”
as a sale is achieved. Management bullying and threats are out of control. Can't say a word or we will lose our jobs, etc. Worst job ever. So unhappy!” “The bank has not learned from its mistakes in the past. There is now more pressure than ever to deliver sales and meet unrealistic targets. I feel this will lead to misselling. For example, if a customer comes in to apply for a loan, the customer has an hour set aside for an appointment. The advisor must go through every single sales opportunity and the very last thing the customer is offered is the loan that they actually want! Totally unethical! It baffles me that the Financial Regulator is still allowing the banks to cold call customers for sales opportunities – again a practice that will lead to misselling.”
“It’s very unfair that the staff on the frontline (who are on the lowest pay) have to bear the brunt of the very irate customers on a day in day out basis while the highly paid managers hide in their oversized offices and enjoy their big salaries. We have no choice because there are no other jobs available out there.”
“The pressure on staff for sales on a daily basis is unbearable. Sales is the only focus at work, not customer care or compliance.However, should a staff member make a mistake due to various pressures, this can lead to a disciplinary meeting. Pressure is too much on a daily basis for staff to cope with. Something needs to change here!” “Bank at the moment has an awful attitude. It’s a total sales
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environment where management put pressure on young staff to sell, sell, sell to people who are finding it hard just to pay their mortgages.” The unrealistic pressure to achieve sales from customers who are clearly unwilling or unable to buy is resulting in increasing abuse of staff by customers and clients. 90% of respondents in customer-facing roles have experienced some form of verbal abuse from customers or clients in the previous twelve months – with 40% indicating that this is a regular event. And of those who have suffered verbal abuse, 72% say that they are not satisfied with their employer’s response on the issue. “The bank has an appalling attitude towards customers in
“There is a huge disconnect between senior management and staff at branch level. There is little confidence in senior management. No heads rolled because of the current crisis. There is a feeling that senior management are keeping their heads down and that they are probably being rewarded financially in ways we at ground level are not aware of, while we are being forced to take the pain. But there is no reciprocation at senior level.” The “disconnect” noted by this respondent is also reflected in a clear breakdown of trust and respect for those leading the business. A shocking 80% declare that they have no confidence in their employer to make the right calls for their business – while 77% believe that senior management’s behaviour does
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“Sales targets are unachievable. Customer service going out the window. Sell product whether customer needs it or not. Bully culture in management. Perform or else!”
“In the branch network, staff have little or no support to deal with difficult customers and their financial problems. One needs to be a psychologist now, not a banker, to handle them and to deal with the bank's hierarchy who just don't see the real life picture of helplessness that's out there.”
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“Management in branches are pushing their staff very strongly for sales of various products since the beginning of 2011, yet were nowhere to be seen when those same staff were being abused by customers last year.”
The survey responses convey a clear picture of pressure intensifying on ordinary staff. 73% of respondents feel pressure to meet performance targets has grown since the downturn in the sector, while 39% of all respondents believe that failure to meet performance targets is likely to result in disciplinary action. “The work culture of target-based selling continues, with much stress placed on the branches to perform over and above targets set. This is despite reduced staff levels.”
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not meet the highest ethical standards. It is hardly surprising then that only 4% admit to being motivated or inspired in any way by the actions of their senior managements. “Nothing has really changed. The same arrogance and sense of entitlement by senior management prevails. Staffing levels are appalling, resulting in massive pressure across the board. Compliance this, compliance that. Trust is completely eroded.
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“The threat of the possibility of disciplinary action is held over our heads like a hatchet. There appears to be no room for human error at retail level while those who almost ran the bank into oblivion seem to be above disciplinary action.”
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The survey revealed a profound level of alienation among staff. Even though they are being put under intense pressure at work to sell at all costs, only 27% said they would encourage friends and family to become customers and only 9% would recommend that others seek employment with their current employer. Worse still, only 7% said they are proud to tell other people that they work for their current employer. “I no longer openly advertise the fact that I am employed by a bank.” “It is not recommended to tell people in social settings that you work for the bank – leads to confrontation and awkward conversations.” “After 32 years working for the bank – almost 30 of those proud years – I wouldn’t admit in public now to working for them. I am so ashamed of my employer, and the fact that no senior management has been held accountable and we, the frontline staff, have been made to feel the brunt of all cuts.” Considering the responses to these questions, it is perhaps surprising that only 56% of respondents said that they do
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I am so ashamed of my employer, and the fact that no senior management has been held accountable… We regularly work overtime and lunch-breaks for free. Not allowed to claim overtime – but necessary … to keep up with workload.
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not feel motivated at work. However, this probably says more about the personal integrity and professionalism of these staff – rather than any effort by their employer to develop a positive working atmosphere – since 63% say that they do not feel employees are treated with respect and, in spite of the current crisis, only 56% say that they would like to be working for their current employer in two years’ time. “Business as usual is the mantra expounded by senior management when clearly there is nothing usual about the current situation. We have been badly let down by our bosses, whom we thought were being paid to lead prudently – but instead followed Anglo, etc., like lemmings – endangering our livelihoods and wiping out our life savings (shares) in the process.”
Payment for working overtime is a particular bone of contention for staff. As the majority of staff in the financial services sector have not received an increase in basic pay since the onset of the current crisis, failure to achieve payment for overtime working can be seen as a further sacrifice by staff who are effectively donating those hours free of charge. 31% of those surveyed say that they are required to work “beyond their contractual hours’’ while a further 14% say they are asked to work overtime on a daily basis. 17% say they are never required to work overtime – while the balance of 41% are asked to do so occasionally. Of the respondents who work overtime frequently or daily, only 14% say they claim overtime payments from their employer – with 81% saying they do not. To test whether the refusal to claim overtime is voluntary or imposed, the survey also asked respondents to indicate if they have any difficulty in securing payment for overtime. 88% of the non-claimers say that securing payment is a problem. On the alternative overtime option of time-off in lieu, only 11% of regular overtime workers say it is offered by their employer, while 80% say it is not. “We regularly work overtime and lunch-breaks for free. Not allowed to claim overtime – but necessary to do it to keep up with workload. 6 posts regularly being manned by 3/4 people. And then the threat of losing our jobs – being told "you're lucky to have a job! Work harder to keep it.” “Overtime is sanctioned in certain instances but in general I and other staff members do five-ten extra hours a week to keep up with job demands. No overtime is given and no time off in lieu is given. Effort and time put in is not acknowledged.”
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ambitions – since 80% of respondents consider that there are no opportunities for career advancement in their own employment.
“The bank has no tolerance in paying overtime. It is no longer about customer needs, it’s about the banks’ profits and the weekly sales target meeting will prove this. It’s a numbers game! Customer service is not really a priority anymore and is not recognised. You’re only as good as your last sale. Hopefully completing this survey will make some sort of impact. The pressure is unbearable and it is distressing to see grown men being reduced to tears in a workplace.”
Future Uncertain
“One's best is no longer good enough and the performance review process serves no valuable purpose except for it being a stick to beat employees with. It is not motivational either.” “Staff work late nights and Saturdays and are set performance-related objectives in order to receive a bonus. This has not been paid in two years and the contract has never been changed
“We don’t know where we stand – whether our jobs are secure or not and living on seriously reduced salaries while exorbitant bonuses continue to be paid out to those who haven’t earned them. It enrages me!”
Staff are expected
to take part in incentives for sales and the prizes are a bar of chocolate!
In the early 90s the culture changed and it was all about achieving sales and… maximising our loan book and profits.
and objectives are still set. Staff are expected to take part in incentives for sales and the prizes are a bar of chocolate! It is demeaning to staff.”
Professional Development Although 66% of respondents say they felt sufficiently well trained to deal effectively with customers, 56% feel they are sufficiently trained for all of the requirements of their job. As for achieving further qualifications, only 37% said that their employer provides adequate time off for study and exams; while 48% are satisfied with their employer’s approach to the payment of course or exam fees. Aside from complying with new standards imposed by the regulatory authorities, the acquisition of further qualifications does not appear to be motivated by particular career
“When I first came into banking many years ago, the culture was all about providing a service (albeit revenue and costs obviously played a part). In the early 90s, the culture changed and it was all about achieving sales, and developed over the years into one of maximising our loan book and profits.” “The only incentive to work for the bank at the moment is fear: fear of losing our jobs, of not being able to meet mortgage repayments etc. I am ashamed to let anyone know where I work. “I feel so betrayed and let down and barely keeping my head above water financially, as my shares were my savings and my emergency fund. “It makes me so angry that senior executives could just walk away with big pay-offs and their pensions intact, while the rest of us are screwed! Someone should be in jail.”
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Appraisals
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A similar number – 79% – are concerned that they may have to leave their job before they want to – because of the crisis. After the traumatic events of the last three years, it is not surprising that the profound lack of confidence in the future of the financial services sector is also reflected in the respondents’ view of the other key players charged with overseeing its operation. Only 25% have any degree of confidence in the regulatory authorities now in place to police the financial services sector satisfactorily in future. Even fewer – 11% – believe that politicians have the capacity to address the sector’s problems satisfactorily in the future.
Concerns about the systematic use (or abuse) of overtime are reflected in the survey finding that only 28% of respondents believe that the current staffing levels in their work area are sufficient to handle the workload. At the same time 70% are dissatisfied with the distribution of the work – while 61% believe that they do not have sufficient say in setting work objectives. One of the most unambiguous responses to any of the issues in the survey came on performance appraisals. In response to the statement that “the appraisal process contributes significantly to my professional development,” less than 1% strongly agree and only 9.5% agree. Just over 10% have no opinion (perhaps because they do not take part in appraisals) while almost 39.5% disagree and a further 40% strongly disagree. Responses from staff in managerial grades were remarkably similar – just under 11% agree or strongly agree while just under 78% said they disagree or strongly disagree.
ARTS & LEISURE
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INSIDE
Cranberry – the new stress-buster?
It’s your right to work in safety and security! The IBOA Safety, Health, Welfare and Security (SHWS) Committee aims to work with members and employers to create healthier, safer working environments for everyone. IBOA has produced guidelines on your rights under health and safety legislation in the Republic and Northern Ireland These can be accessed on the IBOA websites by following these links: www.iboa.ie/knowyourrights/ yourrightsroi/healthsafety.html for the Republic of Ireland; and www.iboa.org.uk/knowyour rights/yourrightsni.html for Northern Ireland. If you have any questions or concerns about health, safety or security in your workplace, please contact a member of your local health and safety committee in the first instance. If there is no health and safety committee in your workplace, please contact a member of the IBOA National Committee below: Elaine Barker (BOI), Carmel Curran (FTB), Margaret Power (BOI-GB), Stephen Kennedy (BOI), Etain Ryan Lyons (AIB), Jaynette Stirling (Ulster NI), Robert Thompson (Northern/ Danske) and Kate Varley (AIB) – along with Senior Industrial Relations Officer, Steve Tweed. You can contact all of these by e-mail at safety@iboa.ie or by phone at 00-353-(0)1-4755908 or 00-44-(0)2890-200130.
SAFETY FOCUS
But changes in workplace culture would be better! Cranberry juice has been the subject of many claims about its wide-ranging health benefits. Although the US is the world leader in cranberry production by some distance, more than half of the US cranberry crop is produced in one state – Wisconsin.
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The latest fruit to be branded as a “super-food” with potentially miraculous health-giving properties is the humble cranberry. Until recently just a relish to accompany roast turkey, the cranberry is now being lauded as a potential cure for one of the most pervasive ailments of modern life – stress! According to researchers at the University of Laval and Wisconsin-La Crosse in the US, the juice of fresh cranberries can improve circulation and increase the antioxidant levels in blood plasma and, thereby, reduce the risk of heart disease. They also discovered that fresh cranberry juice can increase the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL) in the blood and reduce the oxidation of ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) – making it less likely to enter the walls of arteries. Incidentally, the cranberry is officially Wisconsin’s state fruit – and its production is crucial to the local economy. So imagine the embarrassment if no health benefits had been found! Of course, it is widey recognised that fruit should feature as a key part of a balanced diet. But whether cranberry is any more or less healthy than any other soft fruit is a moot point.
But the problem isn’t with the cranberry, itself, but with the tendency to see the taking of “super-foods” or even some drugs, as the way to address health issues – rather than to deal with the underlying cause. So diet or medication may help to treat the symptoms of workplace stress, but they will not address the cause. Take cranberry juice by all means if you think it helps. But don’t forget to ask your employer to take action by re-organising your working environment or your workflow to eliminate – or at least minimise – the cause of the stress. As the article on Page 27 highlights, ultimately the business will benefit, too! If you are prepared to let your employer escape his/her basic duty of care towards you, then Christmas won’t be the only time that cranberry is seen in the company of a turkey!
IBOA
WORKPLACE
LIFESTYLE
ARTS & LEISURE
Report backs ‘strong’ union safety effect
Researchers at the University of Zaragoza in Spain have identified a specific category of ‘underchallenged’ employees who end up finding they can take no more of the ‘monotonous and unstimulating’ tasks they are expected to perform. They ‘have to cope with the disenchantment caused by feeling trapped in an occupational activity to which they are indifferent, which bores them and produces no gratification,’ concluded the study’s lead author, Jesús Montero-Marín. The research team identified two other types of burn-out: ‘frenetic,’ in which the employee works ‘increasingly harder to the point of exhaustion;’ and ‘worn-out,’ where workers ‘give up when faced with stress or lack of gratification.’
Longer-serving employees were more likely to be “wornout,” with those clocking-up more than 16 years’ service most at risk. “The longer the service – the greater the likelihood of having this burn-out,” the study found.
Small Ads – Big Choice Holiday Apartments to Rent Adverts placed for IBOA members by IBOA members Check out the IBOA websites: www.iboa.ie/services/smallads.html or www.iboa.org.uk/services/smallads.html
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Boring ‘under-challenging’ administrative and service jobs can lead to exhaustion and burn-out, according to new research.
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Boring jobs can cause burnout
‘Monotonous and unstimulating’ work can be just as stressful as ‘pressured and frenetic’ tasks.
According to the TUC’s Head of Safety, Hugh Robertson, author the 2011 edition of TUC’s The Union Effect report, “the new evidence shows that the union effect is just as strong as ever.” He points to government figures showing “British industry saved between £181m and £578m each year as a result of lost time reduction from occupational injuries and work-related illnesses of between 286,000 and 616,000 days as a result of trade union representatives.” However, he warns that too many employers are denying union safety reps the time off they need, and only just over a quarter consult automatically with safety reps on a regular basis. The worst problem, however, is in those workplaces that are not unionised, said Robertson. “The facts outlined in this report are indisputable. Trade union health and safety representatives prevent hundreds of thousands of injuries and illnesses every year and, at the same time save employers millions of pounds. Yet the positive effect this band of volunteers has goes almost totally unrecognised by employers and the government. The new briefing “shows that the most effective thing that the government could do to protect workers would be to enforce and strengthen the current consultation regulations,” according to Robertson. “If every workplace had a union safety representative we could cut the number of fatalities and injuries at a stroke.”
www boa org uk
Workplace injuries would be slashed 'at a stroke' if all workplaces had a union health and safety rep, a new report from the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) has concluded.
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LEARNING CURVE IBOA offers a wide range of learning opportunities for its members – including courses in career-enhancing skills. See Page 31
UNION URGES STRATEGIC PLAN IBOA’s demand for a strategic plan for the financial services sector has been endorsed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. See Page 33
REFUNDS ON UNION SUBS
UNION MOURNS HEROIC ACTIVIST
SPORTS & SOCIAL – NEXT
FAMILY FUN IN TAYTO PARK
BUILDING IBOA ESSENTIAL
Listings for the many upcoming events organised by the Union’s Sports and Social Committee. Book early for pantos! See Page 34
The visit to Tayto Park near Ashbourne in Co. Meath proved to be a highly enjoyable event for many IBOA families. See Page 35
With uncertainty growing in many financial institutions, it is vital to build the Union in order to maximise our influence. See Page 37
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Members working atypical hours may be entitled to a refund on their Union subscriptions – so long as they claim in good time. See Page 33
IBOA The FInance Union said farewell to one of its leading activists – Kerry Christie (above), whose selfless dedication to the cause of her members in Ulster Bank, led her to engage in a heroic battle with cancer – to which she finally succumbed in June. An extremely popular figure among her work colleagues, Kerry’s determination remains truly inspirational. See Page 32
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With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity than any other organisation that ever existed. Clarence Darrow SPECTRUM
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Time for real engagement ICTU backs IBOA’s call for major strategic plan for banking sector
“It is no consolation to the thousands of financial services workers who either have or are about to lose their jobs to know that seven years ago, long before the crash, IBOA was calling on Government to engage with all of the stakeholders to address the culture of banking,” Union President, Jessie Doherty, told IBOA’s Executive Committee recently. “Because of our track “When our members told us record of making the right calls that they had serious concerns – not just for our members but about the frenzied sales-obsessed for the sector as a whole target-driven culture which was including the customers, I emerging in the boom years, remain – strangely perhaps – we warned the Government confident about our future,” many times, and long before according to Doherty. the David McWilliams of this “If we are to believe the world were crying halt and saying that what doesn’t kill long before the crisis hit the you makes you stronger, then banks and the economy. But we are now being tempered nobody listened – they were in the flame. We may be a littoo busy enjoying the party. tle leaner in the future – but “But somehow, I don’t by God we will be keener think we’ll ever be regarded as too,” she said. party-poopers again,” she said.
IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick the traditional values of prudence, integrity and stability which prioritise service to customers. The ICTU Biennial Delegate Conference also voted to re-elect IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, to its Executive Council for a further two-year term.
Getting sociable by the Lee IBOA members in Cork aim to form a local Sports and Social Committee to organise more opportunities for members to socialise together. Anyone interested in getting involved in this “fun-raising” activity can contact Stephen Kennedy (Bank of Ireland) on 021-4255006 or stephen.kennedy@iboa.ie, or Orla Dineen (Ulster Bank) on 021-4943766.
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IBOA ‘leaner but keener’ – Doherty
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IBOA President, Jessie Doherty
This overarching agreement should aim to secure the greatest number of jobs: to protect the terms and conditions of employment of staff remaining in the industry; and to ensure that the contribution of staff to the resolution of the banking crisis is recognised appropriately so that they are not scapegoated in pursuit of a simplistic cost-cutting agenda. As well as endorsing the principle of voluntarism in the case of any redundancies in the sector, the IBOA proposal also demands that the culture of banking is subject to radical change in order to restore
www boa org uk
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has backed a proposal from IBOA to seek to conclude a framework agreement with all of the key players in the financial services sector.
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THE IRISH BANKERS’ CLUB
CLUB OPENING HOURS: Tuesday-Saturday: 4.30pm IBOA HOuse, stepHen street upper, DuBlIn 8 until late. Telephone: 01-4758970 10am-12noon or after 5pm (Tuesday-Saturday). Sunday-Monday: closed.
Launching:
THE 26th BANKERS’ CLUB DRAW Magnificent Holiday Destinations including China, West Coast USA, London Olympics, Seychelles and Dubai • Great Cash Prizes with 2 Grand Draw Months and Bumper Christmas Draw
www boa org uk
See Draw Application Forms included with this issue of Spectrum.
UPCOMINg CLUB DRAW NIgHTS
CLUB MEMBERSHIP
Friday September 30: 1st Prize – Two weeks holiday for two to Madeira
New members welcome – Cost only ¤20 per annum! Facilities include: • Special room hire rates • Bar and meeting room facilities. • Catering and DJ facilities available • Big screen for all sporting occasions • Full bar licence – extensions available
Friday October 28: Grand Draw Night 1st Prize – Choice of Holidays to Kenya, Australia or Cuba 2nd Prize: E600, 3rd Prize: E500,
For more information, please contact Michael Martin, Honorary Secretary, Irish Bankers’ Club at the address above.
4th Prize: E400, 5th Prize: E300,
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6th Prize: E200.
Friday December 16: 1st Prize – Two weeks holiday for two on a Caribbean Cruise
Results of recent Bankers’ Club draws are posted on the IBOA websites: www.iboa.ie/services/sports andsocial/bankersclub.html www.iboa.org.uk/services/ sportsandsocial/bankersclub.html
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All Draws at 9pm. Bar Food Each Draw Night from 5pm-10pm plus Big Attendance Prizes
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Club Bookings
SPECIAL OFFER FOR 2011 All IBOA members, Club members and their friends or family members can book the Irish Bankers Club for a party or special function for just ¤100 during August, September, October and November. DON’T MISS OUT – BOOK TODAY SPECTRUM
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IMPROVE Learn to change YOUR I l EARNING POWER SKILLS TRAINING
n today‘s uncertain world, it is increasingly important for employees to develop new skills which are appropriate to changing job roles. IBOA has developed a range of training and learning opportunities to enable members to enhance their skills.
Job Seekers Members or associate members of IBOA who are unemployed (or who have family members who are unemployed) may be able to avail of training to enhance skill levels and improve their chances of getting a job.
Union Representatives’ Skills A three-day Union Reps Skills course is being developed by IBOA. This will be the first IBOA course to be accredited by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) and was run on a pilot basis in June. The participants included a number of Executive Committee members, Bank Secretaries and Youth Committee members. The review and assessment process is currently taking place with a view to making this training
available to a broader audience including members in Northern Ireland and Britain. In addition, the Union is applying to become a registered FETAC training centre. If you are interested in finding out more about training opportunities please contact Marian Geoghegan or Louise O’Donnell in IBOA House, Stephen St Upper, Dublin 8. Telephone: 00-3531-4755908 or e-mail: louise. odonnell@iboa.ie or marian. geoghegan@iboa.ie
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Northern Ireland Union Learning Fund IBOA has secured funding for the development of a Union Learning project in Northern Ireland. This is a two-year project and will begin to be rolled out in the coming months. This project will provide training in essential ICT skills in the short-term and training in other practical skills in the longer term.
IBOA has increased its commitment to provide a broad range of learning opportunities for members.
10% off all products purchased in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland on presentation of your IBOA membership card in store.
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Skillnets IBOA is a participating member of two skills training networks or Skillnets – The Women at Work Skillnet and the Positive2Work Skillnet – which both offer a number of training courses to targeted groups. For example, the Women at Work Skillnet – which is funded by member companies and the National Training Fund – offers IT courses, career development, presentation skills, negotiation skills, employment law, communication skills. These courses vary from oneday courses to 10 or 12 evenings over a number of weeks.
www boa org uk
These training initiatives are varied and generally free of charge to IBOA members, and indeed in some cases may also be open to members’ families to participate, particularly where those relatives are unemployed.
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Memories of Kerry Below are a selection of comments from the online “book of condolence” on the IBOA website. More tributes can be accessed at www.iboa. org.uk/kerry or www.iboa.ie/ kerry. Kerry loved helping people and enjoyed life so much. She was an inspiration to us all and battled bravely through her illness, never feeling sorry for herself and very rarely complaining. She could always make you laugh. You always knew when Kerry had entered the room – Lorna Abbott, Ulster Bank, Danesfort, Belfast.
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Kerry was one of the most generous, kind, caring, committed and dedicated people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Kerry's focus was always on people and making sure that the right things were being done to protect people's rights – Joe Allsop, Ulster Bank, Danesfort, Belfast.
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Here at UNI… we are grateful for her strong commitment to the Irish and European trade union movement. She will be sorely missed – Philip Jennings, General Secretary, UNI Global Union
Kerry had more of an impact in my life than probably anyone else I know. She inspired me, and made me a better person. Kerry was my teacher… Kerry encouraged me to become active in IBOA…I’ve seen the difference Kerry has made in people’s lives and it has been huge. – Patrick McCann, Ulster Bank, Belfast.
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KERRy chRISTIE 1961-2011
Bank workers lose inspiring advocate It is with profound sadness that we record the death of our colleague, Kerry Christie, who had been battling cancer with remarkable courage over the last year. Her brave fight finally came to an end in late June. Kerry started work in Ulster Bank thirty years ago and joined IBOA at the same time. She became a committed activist – first elected to the IBOA’s Executive Committee in 1990. Kerry was seconded from the Bank to serve as the Union’s Ulster Bank Officer for a period. She also served on the former NatWest European Staff Council and was at the time of her death Joint Chair of the RBS European Works Council.
When Kerry was told last year that her cancer had returned, she was determined that she would not become a prisoner to her condition. She continued to play a full and active part in the Union. This was exemplified by the fact that she not only attended the June meeting of the IBOA Executive Committee – but she also continued to show such boundless dedication to her members that many were unaware she was ill. Kerry embraced life completely. She was courageous and determined in everything she did – and with a wicked sense of humour. She has been an inspiration to everyone who was privileged to know her. Union General Secretary, Larry Broderick, offered heart-
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A true people’s person and the bravest lady most of us will ever meet – Veronica McQuillan, Ulster Bank, Danesfort, Belfast.
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I worked closely with Kerry on the RBS European Works Council. I will remember her as a committed trade unionist but above all as a lovely, lovely person. She was the voice of reason but also the person who got everyone else laughing. She was a very brave woman and I will miss her terribly. Sleep well lovely lady – Paul Wilkinson. Former Chair, RBS European Works Council & Unite RBS National Company Committee.
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As Joint Chair of the RBS European Works Council, Kerry (front left) played a pivotal role in the negotiation of a new procedural agreement – which was signed in London in early June – less than three weeks before her death.
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felt condolences to Kerry's family and friends, to her wider family in Ulster Bank, and especially to her colleagues from the Ulster Bank Executive Committee, on their tragic loss. IBOA’s Ulster Bank Officer, John Burns, said it was heartbreaking to lose such a dear friend and colleague. “Kerry was one in a million,” he said, “someone who gave so freely of her time, expertise and enthusiasm to help so many people, without ever thinking of the cost to herself.”
LIFE & STYLE
ARTS & LEISURE
Brendan O’Donohoe
Ken Doyle
IBOA’s pensioner members can avail of all of the services and special events arranged for all IBOA members. Their interests are represented by the IBOA Pensioners’ Committee – which aims to campaign on issues of particular concern to retired IBOA members. As well as bringing these matters to the attention of the Union’s Executive Committee, it also nominates two delegates to the Union’s Biennial Delegate Conference (BDC).
The Committee can also propose resolutions to the BDC which is the Union’s principal decision-making forum. The Union’s Pensioners' Committee works through the ICTU Retired Workers' Committee and the Senior Citizens’ Parliament. The Committee also engages in direct lobbying of the relevant authorities and from time to time organises social meetings for pensioners and talks on matters of interest to members.
www boa org uk
News from the Union Pensioners’ Committee
Your IBOA Subscriptions:
Claiming A Refund If there is a change in your employment circumstances – like moving onto part-time hours or changing to job-sharing arrangements, you may be entitled to avail of a lower subscription rate. The current membership categories and rates are published on www.iboa.ie/join/subscriptions.html and www. iboa.org.uk/join/subscriptions.html.
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WORK AGENDA
Please make sure you inform IBOA Head Office of any change as soon as possible so that your subscription rate can be adjusted – and you receive prompt refund of any overpayments. Please note that the rebate for any overpayments will be capped at the amount overpaid for the first 24 months after the change of status occurred. You can check your personal profile online in the Members Only Section of the Union website and make any necessary amendments there - or you can contact the Membership Department in Head Office at the address below. Membership Department • IBOA The Finance Union • IBOA House • Stephen Street Upper • Dublin 8 • Tel: (00353)-147955908 or (0044)-2890-200130 • E-mail: info@iboa.ie
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SPORTS & SOcIAL
Sea Front, Bundoran, Co. Donegal.
(For more information, see bottom right)
Christmas Wine & Champagne Tasting November 30. Bankers’ Club, IBOA House, Dublin Tickets: E10 (see below for more info)
Gaiety Theatre, Dublin Tuesday 27 December Parterre: Normal Price E34 – IBOA Price E24 (For more information, see bottom right)
Grand Opera House, Belfast, Tuesday 27 December 2.30pm. Tickets: special IBOA price of £15 (up to 6 per person) (For more information, see bottom right)
www boa org uk
Tickets available at E8.50 each until Sunday 25 September, 2011
JEDWARD AND THE
National Aquatic Centre, Abbotstown, Dublin
BEANSTALK
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Saturday 7 January 2012 2.30pm Tickets: Usual Price – E35 plus E5 Booking Fee. Special IBOA Price – E30. See below right for more info.
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BOOk NOW – NumBERs LimitED
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Annual Children’s Party Sunday, 4 December 2011 Bankers’ Club, IBOA House, Dublin. TICKETS: ¤8 per child Santa Gifts, Balloon Making, Puppet Show, Face Painting & Many More Surprises Gifts will only be provided for children up to 9 years old.
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Special price for IBOA members: ¤8.00 per ticket For more info, see below.
For more information on any of these events – including booking forms – please check the IBOA websites at www.iboa.ie or www.iboa.org.uk or contact Anna or Louise in the Sports & Social Department, at IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8 or by phoning 01-4755908 (from ROI) or 02890-200130 (from UK).
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Don’t forget…
IBOA’s Annual Family Zoo Days are coming up soon. Dublin Zoo on Saturday, September 3. Fota Wild Life Park, near Cork, on Saturday, September 3.
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The visit to Tayto Park near Ashbourne in Co. Meath – organised by the Union’s Sports & Social Committee – proved to be such a popular attraction that the Committee is exploring the possiblity of making it an annual event on the Union’s social calendar. Pictured are above (main) Monica O’Sullivan from Callan with Kim, Meg and Sally Ryan and Emma Feeney; top right: Breda Finn from Trim, with husband, Rowan, and children, Emma and Alicia; middle right: Carl Kane and Laya; and below: Rob McAuley with Gabby and children, Ciaran and Chloe (Photos: Irene Breen).
www boa org uk
IBOA AT
IBOA FAMILY ZOO DAYS august/september 2011
On production of your IBOA membership card, you will be entitled to free admission at the main gate for two adults and four children or one adult and five children.
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Belfast Zoo on Saturday, October 1.
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BRIAN McENIFF HOTELS Bundoran-Sligo-Rosses Point-Westport-Dublin The Brian McEniff group of hotels promises comfort and style wherever you're going. With locations in Bundoran, Sligo, Rosses Point, Westport and Dublin, you are sure to find excellent service, whichever hotel you may choose. Brian McEniff Hotels offer comfort with delicious food and value for money.
• The Holyrood Hotel & Blue River Leisure Centre & Escape Spa, Bundoran, Co Donegal • The Great Northern Hotel & Leisure Centre, Bundoran, Co. Donegal • The Best Western Sligo Southern Hotel & Leisure Centre, Sligo. • The Yeats Country Hotel & Eros Spa & Leisure Centre, Rosses Point, Co. Sligo. • The Westport Woods Hotel & Spa & Leisure Centre, Westport, Co Mayo. • The Best Western Dublin Skylon Hotel, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. To avail of this discount, bookings must be made through the Brian McEniff Central Reservations office: Phone 1890 203 203 from the Republic or 0800 039 0035 from NI/UK.
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The Brian McEniff Hotels are delighted to offer members of the IBOA 10% discount off published rates (subject to availability). This discount is valid in any of the six hotels below.
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The special IBOA discount offer is valid until 31st December 2011. Discounts on bookings are subject to availability and excludes all Bank Holiday Weekends. Terms and Conditions apply. SPECTRUM
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LIFE & STYLE
our members’ interests are protected as effectively as possible. Equally vital is an informed and active IBOA presence in the workplace to ensure that the employer does not take the Union and its members for granted. One of the activities for members to engage in is to encourage non-members to join and get involved so that, together, they have a better chance of influencing the future of their employment.
STRONGER TOGETHER In these uncertain times building the Union is your best protection
So how do you persuade a non-member to join?
So, if a colleague is worried about threats to her or his job or possible pay cuts, then you should urge her or him to make IBOA stronger as it fights to secure jobs and protect pay. Only by building their strength on a collective basis can staff ensure that their concerns are addressed. Only IBOA can act as a truly independent advocate for the interests of staff. And remember IBOA offers discounts on a wide range of goods and services to ensure that your Union subscription offers real value for money.
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sponsible for the crisis, they are being asked to bear the lion’s share of the burden. Both IBOA’s elected representatives and professional support staff will make forceful arguments to protect members – using industrial relations machinery and, where appropriate, the courts to deliver the best possible outcomes. But if industrial relations was purely a matter of logic, then the financial services sector wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. Sometimes it takes more than a well argued case to convince an employer or even a Minister. Frequently numerical strength can have an important – even decisive – bearing on the situation. The simple truth is that the more members we have in an employment, then the greater will be our bargaining power with an employer to ensure that
• Identify any non-members in your area. • Talk to your IBOA Reps or Executive Committee member for the latest news on key issues. • Find out which issues are of most concern to the non-members in your area. • Ask them to join so as to strengthen IBOA’s efforts to resolve these issues.
BOA THE F NANCE UN ON
As a democratic trade union, IBOA represents your interests and concerns directly with your employer but also with other key players in the sector including Government, the regulatory authorities and the EU. IBOA has been built by successive generations of financial services staff who have fought for the right to professional representation for over 90 years. Today we are facing one of the most difficult periods in our history. Right across the board our members are facing either the prospect – or the consequences – of restructuring programmes – along with continuing challenges on pay and pensions. Many more issues require prompt attention including staffing, unfair disciplinary action, bullying and excessive pressure to sell to increasingly hostile customers. Although staff are not re-
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TALKS OPEN AT NORTHERN BANK Northern Bank management is currently engaged in detailed negotiations with IBOA on its planned Transformation Project. See Page 41
MAJOR REVIEW AT ULSTER BANK
NIB IN JOB SECURITY PLEDGE
Ulster Bank’s recently appointed Chief Executive, Jim Brown (above) is engaged in a wideranging operational review. See Page 42
IBOA has welcomed the recent unequivocal statement from Danske Bank Group of its commitment to remain in Ireland. The Union has also welcomed the statement from National Irish Bank Chief Executive, Andrew Healy (above), that no additional redundancies are envisaged – following last year’s restructuring of its operations in the Republic of Ireland. See Page 40
GREEN SHOOTS AT BOI?
BOI WINS NEW INVESTMENT
WE NEED REAL TALKS AT AIB
As underlying losses are halved and with new capital investment secured, has Bank of Ireland turned the corner at last? See Page 43
IBOA has cautiously welcomed the news that a group of private investors are taking a substantial stake in Bank of Ireland. See Page 44
IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, has challenged AIB boss, David Hodgkinson (above) to engage in real talks on future. See Page 45
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The large print giveth – but the small print taketh away.
tom Waits
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Senior management at Anglo Irish Bank has announced that the Board of the Bank has endorsed a major restructuring plan which includes provision for 130 redundancies in the Republic and a total of 350 across the business globally over the next twelve months. Negotiations began recently between the management of the wholly Stateowned institution and IBOA which not only represents the majority of staff who transferred to Anglo recently from the now defunct Irish Nationwide Building Society – but also a growing number of staff within Anglo, itself. The Union’s General Secretary, Larry Broderick, said the Union was disappointed, though not surprised, at the announcement since management’s previous indication that work on the restructuring plan was advancing had caused considerable anxiety among staff in the Bank. At the opening of negotiations, the IBOA team sought clarification of both the scope and rationale for the restructuring proposals.
The Union is also keen to ensure that the first tranche of redundancies at the Bank will be implemented on a voluntary basis – even though eventually all staff in Anglo will be made redundant when the institution is finally wound up by 2020. "While we acknowledge that the Bank has indicated its preference that redundancies should be implemented on a voluntary basis, IBOA will urge management to strengthen that commitment so
On Fingleton’s watch In addition to a ¤1 million bonus, former Irish Nationwide (INBS) Chief Executive, Michael Fingleton, also received a parting gift of a watch costing ¤11,500 in cash. While INBS withheld ¤400,000 of the bonus in tax, ¤9,650 was paid to the taxman so that the former boss would not be liable for ‘benefit-in-kind’ taxes. Following INBS’s merger with Anglo Irish Bank, Anglo CEO, Mike Aynsley, wrote again to Mr. Fingleton to demand the return of the watch or its cash equivalent as well as the balance of the bonus.
as to avoid making any staff redundant on a compulsory basis given the current employment situation in the financial services sector. “Negotiations on other issues such as the level of the severance terms and the criteria for selection will proceed over the coming weeks,” said Mr. Broderick. “As part of the restructuring agenda,” he said, “we also intend to raise the many concerns of the staff who will remain with the Bank on various issues such as redeployment, retraining and remuneration. “Our aim is to achieve a fair and balanced approach to the restructuring of the business both for those staff who opt to leave the Bank at this time and for those who decide to remain with the Bank," said the IBOA leader. Following the opening engagement with management on the restructuring plan, the Union has also sought a meeting with the Republic’s Minister for Finance. Michael Noonan, for clarification of the Anglo restructuring plans within the context of the Government’s overall banking strategy.
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Anglo Irish Bank Chairman, Alan Dukes, and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Aynsley. (Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall-Ireland)
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IBOA in talks on Anglo Irish restructuring
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NATIONAL IRISh BANK
Union signs off on new agreement with NIB
Job security pledge at National Irish Bank
National Irish Bank and IBOA have recently concluded a new Relationship Agreement which establishes a framework for the conduct of industrial relations in a more structured way and recognises the mutuality of interest between the employer and the employees in a rapidly changing banking environment. The agreement also puts procedures in place so that any issues in dispute between the parties may be referred to an agreed third party to assist in reaching an agreement. “Although the bank remains in a challenging financial position, both its national and international managements recognise that its success will depend on the support of its remaining staff,” said IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick.
NIB and Danske Bank Group are committed to remain in Irish market
Pension plan remains open
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National Irish Bank Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Healy. (Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)
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IBOA has welcomed the recent unequivocal statement from Danske Bank Group of its commitment to remain in Ireland. The Union has also welcomed National Irish Bank’s statement that no further redundancies are envisaged – following last year's restructuring of its operations in the Republic of Ireland. “The Bank’s Chief Executive, Mr. Andrew Healy, confirmed at recent meetings with IBOA that the Strategic Restructuring Programme, which brought about major change in National Irish Bank, is delivering significant benefits to the institution.” said IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick. “In addition, IBOA very much welcomes the recent reaffirmation by Mr. Peter Straarup, Chairman of the Executive Board, Danske Bank, of the Group’s commitment to Ireland through National Irish Bank. Mr. Straarup also acknowledges the major contribution staff have made to the Bank in the recent Restructuring Programme and commits to no further redundancies.
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“At a time of huge uncertainty in the financial services sector both globally and nationally, these are welcome developments," said Mr. Broderick, "and offer some reassurance to staff in National Irish Bank who have been through a major restructuring programme over the last two years. National Irish Bank engaged in a major restructuring programme in 2010, resulting in the closure of almost half of its branch network and the reduction of its workforce by over 150. While these redundancies took place on a voluntary basis in line with industry norms, they were nevertheless very challenging for the staff remaining in the Bank. Although the Bank’s recent half-yearly results indicate a continuing need to make provision for a significant level of impaired loans on the balance sheet, it is noteworthy that the Bank’s performance in terms of operating profit was positive.
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In the wake of the recent Labour Court recommendation on the pension review, the Bank has advised IBOA that staff who earlier chose not to move to full membership of the Hybrid Plan can now avail of that option. The Bank has also agreed to pay the 5% lump sum to those staff who transfer to full Hybrid membership. This payment was made to staff who transferred in January to full membership of the Hybrid Plan in recognition of the higher employee contributions. All remaining staff who did not sign the authorisation forms to pay increased contributions are now free to do so on the back of this commitment and, in particular, the Bank's commitment to honour the preserved benefits accrued of all staff in the Defined Benefit pension scheme.
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Northern composure Talks continue on Northern Bank’s transformation project Senior management in Northern Bank is currently engaged in detailed negotiations with IBOA on its proposed Transformation Project which provides for major changes in the operation and structure of Northern Ireland’s most successful bank. Among the key elements of the project are the re-organisation of the institution into two divisions: one focussed on personal banking and the other on business banking. The project also aims to streamline many aspects of the organisation. While IBOA has a number of concerns about this announcement which has created some uncertainty for staff, it has welcomed the fact that the Bank is com-
mitted to honour existing agreements and to have full consultation with IBOA before implementation. IBOA Senior Industrial Relations Officer, Gerry Hanna (left), explained that in the meetings with the Bank so far, IBOA has sought clarification on a number of key issues, including: • the rationale for the proposed changes; • the likely impact on business areas, jobs and terms and conditions of employment; • the likely impact on staff career progression; • redeployment of staff; and • the likely impact of the proposals on the Performance Management system.
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Isn’t it time you joined the club?
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IBOA Danske Bank Group Officer, Robert Thompson (above) has welcomed the recently concluded Relationship Agreement with National Irish Bank.
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ULSTER BANK
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Operational review at Ulster Bank A wide-ranging review of Ulster Bank’s operations by the recently appointed Chief Executive, Jim Brown, is believed to be close to completion. The review is taking place at a time when the Bank has reported an increase in operating losses for the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. A comprehensive progress report on the review is expected to be delivered to the Bank’s senior management team early in September. The Chief Executive has committed to provide a detailed briefing to IBOA on any developments which may affect its members; and to consult fully with IBOA in line with the relationship agreement – recently endorsed by mediator, Martin King.
Ulster Bank’s recently appointed Chief Executive, Jim Brown.
Discounts
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Ulster staff vote for new contract IBOA members in Ulster Bank have voted overwhelmingly to accept a wide-ranging recommendation from independent mediator, Martin King – which covers a number of issues arising from the contentious 2009 contract offer, as well as pay for 2011. In line with the King recommendation, a new 2011 contract is to be offered to staff who did not accept the 2009 contracts – which will include the following: – Payment for past and future PEF and benefit funding; – Pensionable pay limit to be applied with effect from January 1, 2010 and in lieu of the accrual rate reduction (1/60ths to 1/80ths) applied in 2010; – Changes to clauses in 2009 contracts and in subsequent contracts issued and future contracts; – Pay 2011 payment based on a revised pay matrix; – Clarity around working hours for present and future employees; – Clarity in respect of Dublin Allowance entitlements; – Determination of overtime and holiday entitlements;
– Proposal for a collective settlement agreement; – Re-enforced procedural agreement and recognition between the Bank and IBOA; and – A basis for resolving outstanding legal cases.
Operating losses rise at Ulster Bank Ulster Bank made an operating loss of £566m in the first half of the year as the repercussions of the property crash continues to take its toll in Ireland. The losses are more than double the level recorded for the first half of 2010, which reached £252m. Commenting on the results, Ulster Bank’s parent company, RBS, noted the risks remained high but that “recent trends suggest a more positive medium-term outlook.”
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BANK OF IRELAND
Bank of Ireland Chief Executive Officer, Richie Boucher. (Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)
Bank of Ireland recently reported a significant reduction in underlying losses before tax of ¤723 million compared to ¤1.320 million in the first six months of the year 2010. Similarly, costs are down 8% on the first half of 2010. The Bank has secured enough capital to enable it to remain as an independent entity with a very strong investment group behind it. Initial indications are that this new group intend to take a long-term view of its investment in the Bank – which is a welcome change from the short-termism that has blighted Irish banking in recent years. In light of the significant progress that has been made in the last twelve
months, IBOA believes that it is now timely for the Bank’s senior management to engage with the Union on the staff agenda. The main items to be negotiated between the Bank and IBOA are as follows: • a review of pay for 2011 as provided for under the Connaughton Agreement which was ratified by the Bank and IBOA in July 2010 as part of the EU Restructuring Plan; • the implementation of the other elements of the EU Restructuring Plan – including those relating to job reduction; • a comprehensive review of the new Branch Banking concept, on completion of the various pilot scheme
• •
•
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(including the new pilot operation in Belfast); a review of the regionalisation of back office activities; in-depth consideration of the issue of workplace culture – which remains excessively focussed on sales and objective-setting rather than real customer service; a comprehensive agreement on transferability – which, while recognising the Bank’s need to redeploy staff from time to time, also ensures that staff needs are addressed with due sensitivity; and further consideration of a number of matters which have been outstanding between IBOA and the Bank for some considerable time.
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Encouraging signs as underlying losses are halved
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Green shoots at Bank of Ireland?
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FIRST TRUST BANK
New chief for FTB Irish Nationwide’s chief executive, Gerry McGinn, is to become the new managing director of AIB's Northern Ireland subsidiary, First Trust Bank. Following the transfer of its loan book to Permanent TSB, Irish Nationwide’s remaining business is now to be merged with Anglo Irish Bank to form the Irish Banking Resolution Corporation – which is expected to be wound down by 2020. Before Carrickfergus native, Gerry McGinn, took over at the nationalised INBS in 2009, he had also been served as a senior executive at Bank of Ireland in Northern Ireland, at Goodbody Stockbrokers and as a Permanent Secretary in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Fairfax CEO, Prem Watsa
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Cautious welcome for BOI private investment
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IBOA has given a cautious welcome to the Irish Government’s recent announcement that a group of private investors are taking a substantial stake in the Bank – thus avoiding the need for the Irish State to become Bank of Ireland’s majority shareholder. The group – led by Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada – is believed to include New Yorkbased W. L. Ross and Co., and two California-based companies, Kennedy Wilson and Fidelity and Capital Research. The group has committed to buy ¤1.1 billion worth of shares – which means that at least 68% of the bank’s equity will remain in private hands. IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, said that it was vital to avoid a situation where virtually all of the major retail banks operating in Ireland would be either fully nationalised or under majority State control. “We are seeking clarification from the Bank’s senior management on any possible implications of this capital injection for the terms and conditions of staff and for the key agreements on restructuring which were negotiated between IBOA and the Bank last year,” said Broderick.
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For more information, check the IBoA websites: www.iboa.ie/members/otherservices/iboaplusdiscount.html or www.iboa.org.uk/members/otherservices/iboaplusdiscount.html These offers are exclusive to IBOA members – so you’ll need your IBOA membership number to access the website.
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AIB GROUP
mendations from the independent mediators, Mark Connaughton, SC, and Liam Deane, even though AIB management claimed to have accepted them.” “IBOA has sought a reasonable undertaking from the Bank that the shedding of 2000 jobs – announced by AIB's Executive Chairman earlier this year – would be implemented on a voluntary basis in line with what has taken place elsewhere in the financial services sector,” said the Union leader. “It is unacceptable that AIB staff should suffer disproportionately compared to the vast majority of other staff in the industry where redundancies have taken place in the last few years. “Separately the IBOA has argued that the severance terms to be offered in AIB should also conform to established sectoral norms especially since many senior executives leaving the Bank have received extremely lucrative golden handshakes.” he added. “Our members are also aware that substantial sums have been paid to consultants for the provision of advice on the restructuring of the Bank.
“So even though many of those who were responsible for the reckless lending at the root of the current crisis have been well rewarded; and even though those hired to rectify the matter are also being well rewarded,” he said, “the ordinary staff in AIB who are being lined up to sacrifice their livelihoods, have so far not even received the courtesy of an offer of compensation despite the fact they were not responsible for the Bank's collapse. “IBOA has told the Bank that our members will not co-operate with any restructuring proposals until we have reached a satisfactory resolution on a number of key issues which are now likely to be referred to an independent tribunal for consideration." The IBOA leader has also warned AIB management that the Bank's elusive approach to restructuring is demoralising staff throughout AIB – which could have major consequences for the Bank and its stake-holders because these staff will play a crucial role if the Bank is to be returned to sound financial health in the future.
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The Board and senior management of AIB Group have been challenged by IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, to engage fully in real dialogue with the Union on the recovery of the Bank including the restructuring programme.. In a letter sent to the Group’s Executive Chairman, David Hodgkinson, before the recent AGM, the finance union leader accused the Bank of failing to treat its employees with decency and respect by refusing to provide details of the 2,000 job cuts which were originally announced in April – and which may be implemented in October according to a further announcement by the Bank recently. Talks at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) broke down in July because the LRC could find no basis for conciliation. Commenting on the LRC decision, Larry Broderick said he was disappointed – though not surprised – that the LRC could not see any scope for conciliation at this time – especially “since the Bank's approach at the LRC failed to take on board the recom-
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AIB staff still wait for details of major restructuring plan
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AIB Group Executive Chairman, David Hodgkinson. (Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)
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I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I’m also not blonde.
Dolly Parton SPECTRUM
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ENERGY DRINKS NOT SO HEALTHY FOR KIDS Italian fashion house, Versace, has become the latest of the leading labels to back the international campaign for a ban on sandblasting of denim to create an instantly aged look – because the process is known to cause the potentially fatal lung disease, silicosis, among workers engaged in the industry. The company’s decision follows intensive lobbying by campaigners demanding fair treatment of workers in the clothing sector. See Page 48
CAFFEINE IN SUNSCREEN TO CURE CANCER?
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Scientists at the Department of Clinical Biology in Rutgers University, New Jersey, have worked out how caffeine used as a sunscreen may protect against certain types of skin cancer. The research on mice suggests the “possibility that caffeine, possibly (applied to the skin) would have an inhibitory effect on sunlight-induced skin cancer,” said lead researcher, Allan Conney. However, the US results do not necessarily mean that drinking coffee would have the same effect. Although these effects were not examined in this research project, previous studies investigating the possible impact of coffee consumption on cancer – positive or negative – have so far failed to produce conclusive results.
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A new report from the American Academy of Paediatrics casts serious doubts on health benefits of sports and energy drinks for children and adolescents. The report claims that regular consumption of some of these beverages will make the average child fat, possibly damage his or her teeth and may deliver potentially toxic doses of caffeine – at levels more commonly associated with a range of serious health conditions. See Page 50
EXERCISE IS KID’S STUFF!
MAKING MENUS COUNT
Children under five should get at least three hours of exercise a day, according to new UK Government guidelines. See Page 50
One of the latest innovations in the restaurant business is the inclusion on menus of the calorific values of each dish. See Page 50
Global sports gear manufacturer, Nike refuses to include a living wage standard in the code of conduct for its suppliers. See Page 52
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cONSUMER AFFAIRS
Swipe for cash Bank of Ireland to launch “contactless” Visa debit card Jersey Shore’s Mike Sorrentino
While most retailers would probably fall over themselves to secure unpaid celebrity endorsements for their products, the US fashion label, Abercrombie and Fitch, has offered a “substantial” payment to one reality TV star if he refrains from wearing their clothing on television. A&F made this unprecedented proposal to Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino – who is one of the stars of the MTV reality show, Jersey Shore – because “Mr. Sorrentino’s association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image.” Although the show has a US audience of over 8 million, the link to Sorrentino “is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand and may be distressing to many of our fans,” according to the US fashion house.
‘Crackberries’ and Me-phones: Smartphones are addictive More than a third of adults and about 60% of teenagers who own smartphones in the UK say they are highly addicted to their devices, according to the British telecoms regulator, Ofcom. Smartphone users are more likely than owners of
standard mobile phones to never switch them off, and are more inclined to continue sending email or text messages even when at the cinema or the theatre. They are also more likely to use their phones during social occasions.
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Over a quarter of adults and nearly half of all teenagers in Britain now own a smartphone. They reported that they had cut back on activities such as reading books and newspapers and watching TV – since buying the device.
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A&F offer to pay star not to wear label
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The card is subject to the same level of consumer protection as all Visa cards. Once the card is used a certain number of times or above a certain value, consumers will be prompted to input a PIN to complete their purchase. Bank of Ireland says the card is suitable for retailers, buses, trains, parking and vending machines.
Apart from enhacing convenience for customers by speeding up simple transactions, the introduction of the new debit cards also aims to reduce the amount of cash payments made in Ireland. According to a recent National Irish Bank survey, 70% of all transactions in Ireland are still made using cash. The country is also one of the highest users of cheques. “From the end of this year, counting coins to pay for items such as fast food, newspapers or coffee will be history for Bank of Ireland’s customers who choose to embrace this new technology,” said Quentin Teggin, head of consumer segments at Bank of Ireland. According to Visa Europe, the number of its contactless cards in use in the UK should rise from 13 million to 20 million by the end of this year.
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Bank of Ireland has launched a new “contactless” Visa debit card – allowing consumers to pay for purchases of ¤15 and under “in less than a second” simply by holding the card over a scanner.
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FAShION STATEMENT
High class couture The Italian fashion giant, Versace, has become the latest brand to back a drive to end the practice of sandblasting denim which is intended to provide a weathered look on jeans and jackets. The contrast between the glitzy image of one of the world’s best known fashion houses and the dismal and dangerous sweatshops of the Third World could hardly be greater – but the demand for denim to be instantly aged has been taking a heavy toll on some of the world’s poorest textile workers who have been engaged in sandblasting the material. Weathered denim may be the look for the fashionistas of the West – but it comes at a price for the health of many low-paid workers whose lungs have been destroyed by silicosis caused by the highly dangerous industrial process. Following an intense campaign calling for a boycott of Versace jeans – which included
a cyber attack on the fashion house’s Facebook site – the Italian megabrand announced that it was backing the demand for an end to sandblasting. Versace has now joined other major brands like Levi Strauss, H&M and Karen Millen in pledging to stop selling sandblasted products. The technique was first banned by European authorities in 1966 while Britain outlawed the practice in 1950. But the ITGLWF claims that the practice has killed dozens of workers in garment-producing countries like Turkey and Bangladesh, where it has been blamed for causing the irreversible lung disease, silicosis. The ITGLWF claims that by July 2010, 46 Turkish workers had died from silicosis caused by sandblasting, which became widespread in the past decade as demand for worn denim soared. Although Turkey banned manual sandblasting in March 2009, it has been claimed that about 600
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Versace signs up for ban on sand-blasted denim
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On Trend: Donatella Versace joins campaign against sand-blasted denim. workers were diagnosed with silicosis in the country in the past decade and the total could rise to 5,000 in the next five years. Dominique Muller, of the Clean Clothes Campaign, has welcomed Versace’s new position as “very good news” but has also urged companies to be transparent about their supply chains and to explain how they intend to enforce the ban.
The complex nature of supply chains, and the lack of workers’ rights in poorer countries where production usually occurs, makes it very difficult to ensure that even minimum safety standards are respected. Experts have also noted that the practice tends to emerge wherever there is cheap labour and a lack of properly enforced legislation to protect workers.
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Exercise is kid’s stuff! Children under five should get at least three hours of exercise a day, according to new UK Government guidelines. According to the Chief Medical Officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, babies should be taken swimming or encouraged to use ‘baby gym’ mats until they can walk. Once they are walking, toddlers should be taken on a brisk 15minute walk as well as engaging in three hours of “active play” such as running, skipping and climbing. According to new National Health Service statistics, about a quarter of British children aged four and five are overweight or obese. Experts consider this figure could rise to over 60% by 2050.
New menus to include calorie counts soon? Major restaurant chains in the US are rushing to redesign their menus to reduce the calorie count of their dishes. New rules from the US Food and Drug Adminstration – likely by the end of this year – are expected to require any chain with 20 or more outlets to display the calorie values for every item on sale. Expect something similar on this side of the pond – as restaurant chains try to get in early to make a virtue out of what may become a necessity later.
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hEALTh MATTERS
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Fitteror New report casts serious doubts on health benefits of sports and energy drinks for children and adolescents Kids shouldn’t have energy drinks at all and only need sports drinks occasionally, according to a recent report from the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP). Although parents who buy their sports or energy drinks may believe these products are in some way healthier than other soft drinks, regular consumption of some of these beverages will make the average child fat, possibly damage his/her teeth and may deliver potentially toxic doses of caffeine – at levels associated with a variety of serious health conditions. Based on a recipe comprising carbohydrates (sugars), minerals, electrolytes and flavouring, sports drinks are mainly intended to replace water and electrolytes lost during physical exercise through sweating. Only the most serious adolescent athletes, who participate in endurance or high-intensity sports and vigorous physical activity on a regular basis, are likely to benefit from sports drinks. For average children, sports drinks can substantially increase the risk of weight problems as so
The message is clear: plain water is the healthiest and most effective solution for children engaging in routine physical activity.
Sports drinks are only beneficial for serious adolescent athletes – while energy drinks should never be given to children.
be a factor in heart problems, diabetes, seizures and behavioural disorders. Caffeine and other stimulants contained in energy drinks “have no place in the diet of children and adolescents,” declared Dr. Marcie Beth Schneider, the report’s co-author and a member of the AAP’s Committee on Nutrition. According to her colleague, Dr. Holly Benjamin,“for most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best.” Dr. Schneider noted that there was widespread confusion among consumers as to the differences between sports and energy drinks. She urged manufacturers to do more to make the differences clear. “Some kids are drinking energy drinks – containing large amounts of caffeine – when their goal is simply to rehydrate after exercise,” she said. “In many cases, it can be hard to tell how much caffeine is in a product by looking at the label. Some cans or bottles of energy drinks can have more than 500mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of 14 cans of soda.”
ARTS & LEISURE
The report was also critical of advertising campaigns for these drinks targetted at children as well as those which suggest that consumers can reach peaks of athletic performance by drinking them in large quantities. “Sports and energy drinks are being marketed to children and adolescents for a wide variety of inappropriate uses,” according to the report which was published in the journal, Pediatrics. “In general, there is little need for carbohydrate-containing beverages other than the recommended daily intake of fruit juice and low-fat milk,” they continued. The researchers were also concerned at the impact that sports and energy drinks have on teeth. Many of them are high in acidity which is closely associated with tooth decay. Among the energy brands reviewed in the report were Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar – while the sports drinks tested by the team included Powerade, Gatorade and All Sport.
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IBOA members on all products few of them do en to burn off up to per serving cont these drinks. Because energy contain stimulants as caffeine – as w the sugars, minerals electrolytes found sports drinks – t are considered to even more dangero and “should nev be given to child according to the d
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the research rt from a higher e count (of up 70 calories per ng), some energy s were found to caffeine levels up imes higher than her soft drinks, ng to the study ing them techoxic. consumption of widely held to
(excluding medicines and prescriptions) from Hickey’s Pharmacies in Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin (Coolock, Crumlin, Finglas, Grafton Street, Harold’s Cross, Henry Street, O’Connell Street, Ongar, Phibsboro, Santry, Tallaght, Terenure and Tyrrelstown), Dundalk, Gorey, Maynooth, Navan and Newbridge. august/september 2011
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Nike refuses to include a living wage standard in the code of conduct for its suppliers
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Nike can’t just do it! Nike’s new global ‘Just Do It’ campaign – entitled The Chosen – says it will bring sports to the grassroots and that it represents the “passing of the torch to the next generation.” But members of a grassroots generation who would like to see something more tangible than a torch being passed are thousands of workers in the Nike supply chain who are being paid less-thansubsistence wages. SPECTRUM
Sheran (not his real name) works as a dispatch operator for a Nike supplier in Sri Lanka, earning a monthly basic wage of Rs11,000 (£64 or E73). “I definitely couldn’t survive,” he replied, when asked about being able to meet his basic needs and those of his family on his basic salary. “I have to work overtime – I work about 60 hours a week in total. Accommodation, excluding bills, and childcare alone costs Rs 4500 (£25 or E28.50) a month.” In contrast to these poverty wages, Nike netted a staggering £5.4 billion in profits for
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Cristiano Ronaldo modelling Nike’s Mercurial Vapor Super-fly boots – which retail for £280 or E320 a pair – or more than four times the monthly basic pay for Nike supply chain employees in Sri Lanka.
2010, but the company still refuses to include a living wage standard in its code of conduct for suppliers. In Sri Lanka, the living wage has been estimated at Rs23,500 (£131 or E150) per month, that’s less than the cost of a single Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly III boot, as worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, and costing £280 or E320 a pair. Without workers like Sheran making Nike products, there wouldn’t be the funds to run The Chosen or pay out huge sponsorship fees. Sheran is on a permanent contract, which is unusual for workers in the sportswear industry, and his employer has provided training on health and safety. “I get 14 days’ paid leave in a whole year, but no paid sick leave,” Sheran said. Nike suppliers should comply with the brand’s code of conduct, and this code also serves to inform workers about their rights. “The code is displayed in English and not in Sinhala,” said Sheran.
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Sri Lankan garment workers demonstrate for better pay and conditions.
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“I can read some English – but I can’t understand everything in the code.” This means that Sheran may not know if some of his working rights are being violated. And if his or others’ rights are violated, there is no trade union in the factory to represent the workers. Nike’s code states that the contractor should respect the right of employees to freedom of association, including the right to form and join a trade union. The Chosen,according to Nike, is a new voice for ‘Just Do it.’ And ‘Nike Responsibility’ states: “Our greatest responsibility as a global company is to play a role in bringing about positive systemic change for workers within our own supply chain, and in the industry.” Achieving positive systemic change means listening to the voices of workers and taking a positive approach to the human right to join or form a trade union. “I’d like an increase in my basic pay, paid sick leave, and better paid holiday provisions,” Sheran said.“The best way to achieve these changes is through collective bargaining.” You can support the struggles of workers like Sheran for Decent Work by getting involved in the Playfair 2012 campaign at www.playfair2012.org/ where you can take action to call on Nike, Adidas and Pentland (makers of Speedo) to pay a living wage; respect the right to form/join a union; make overtime work voluntary, and provide job security.
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It would take the average sportswear worker in Sri Lanka 14,000 years to earn the equivalent of the Nike Chief Executive’s 2010 pay pot.
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The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. Albert Einstein
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ELBOW BID FOR MERCURY DOUBLE Elbow Widely acclaimed as one of the stars of this year’s Gastonbury Festival, Manchester-based band, Elbow, are once again in strong contention for the Mercury Music Prize for the Album of the Year – with Build a Rocket Boys!,
featuring on this year’s twelvestrong shortlist. In a very high quality eclectic field, their main competition seems to come from Adele – whose 21 has achieved very impressive sales figures on both
sides of the Atlantic as well as winning the plaudits of music critics. The winning album will be announced on September 6.
ALL BLACK TO THE FUTURE
PRIZE CROSSWORD
PICTURE BOARD AND SUDOKU
George Hamilton previews the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in New Zealand – where the hosts are favourites to triumph. See Page 58
Test your word power with our latest crossword and perhaps you could be in line for the E50 prize. See Page 60
Prizes of E30 each are on offer for solving our picture quiz and the sudoku challenge. Why not give them a try? See Page 61
BOARDROOM MALFUNCTION? Stephen Malone takes a sideways look at recent events including Janet Jackson’s recent £500,000 gig for Deutsche Bank See Page 62
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CINEMATIX
Monkey See Monkey Do! True story of chimp project contrasts with latest hi-tech instalment of Apes saga
Online DVD Rentals No more late fees! No more contracts! No catch! A special price of ¤12.99 (usual price ¤15.99) is available to all iBOA members. Check iBOA website for details.
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The introduction of this new visual effects technology to the Apes saga marks a substantial step forward from actors wearing rubber masks or latex prosthetics in the earlier films. The new primates are remarkably realistic – Caesar, in particular, displays a range of emotions with sensitivity and subtlety. Indeed, in many respects the performances of the ape actors are more convincing than those of their human counterparts, who include Frida (Slumdog Millionaire) Pinto and Tom (Harry Potter) Felton. Using a variety of archive material as well as contemporary interviews in Project Nim, James Marsh examines a major animal behaviour experiment conducted over thirty years ago – designed to test whether a chimpanzee could learn to communicate using language, if it was raised like a human child. The chimp, Nim (left), was taken from his mother to live with a human family in New York. As an infant, the chimp was curious and attractive. But as he matured, he became increasingly aggressive. Project Nim is a fascinating counterpoint to the high-tech sci-fi blockbuster.
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Andy Serkis as Caesar in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes
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Two complementary films about relationships between humans and our nearest relatives in the animal kingdom are on release at the moment – one entirely fictional and the other based on the true story of a scientific experiment in the early 1970s in which a young chimp, Nim, was taught sign language. But first, the Rise of the Planet of the Apes is presented as a prequel to the original 1968 starring Charlton Heston, and seeks to explain how apes came to rule over mankind. Of course, fans of the fivefilm franchise will know that this has already been done in the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Nevertheless, the new version taps into current concerns about genetic engineering and the unregulated influence of big business. James Franco is a scientist testing a possible cure for Alzheimer’s disease on apes. As the main test subject, Caesar, begins to develop heightened intelligence, he becomes increasingly resentful of his captivity. Caesar is played by the master of performance capture, Andy Serkis, who inhabited the characters of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and King Kong in the Peter Jackson film of the same name.
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MUSIc MAchINE
Will Adele get Elbowed again? Pop diva is this year’s favourite for Mercury Prize THE 12 NOMINATED ALBUMS
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Adele - 21 Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys! Everything Everything - Man Alive Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam Gwilym Simcock - Good Days At Schloss Elmau James Blake - James Blake Katy B - On A Mission King Creosote & Jon Hopkins Diamond Mine Metronomy - The English Riviera P. J. Harvey - Let England Shake Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy
Adele
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• • • • •
In 2008, Adele was also tipped to win with her debut album, 19, but was pipped at the post by Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid which included the anthemic One Day Like This. Elbow are in the field again this year with Build A Rocket Boys! But surely lightning won’t strike twice. The results are announced on September 6.
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The nominees for this year’s Mercury Prize for the 2011 Album of the Year represents a triumph of real diversity – with performers of urban hip-hop, retrocountry, power ballads, melodic rock and guitar anthems all present on the twelve albums shortlisted for the prize and others willingly acknowledging that their music represents a cross-fertilisation of two or more of these genres. As rock historian and Mercury judge, Simon Frith, noted recently: “For some of these artists it is quite difficult to pinpoint what genre they represent…artists are not constrained by marketing labels any more.” This mix of influences is exemplified in the early favourite for the prize, 21 by Adele – which blends folk and country with elements of blues and Motown. Adele’s second studio album, 21 has already sold over 3 million copies in Britain and a similar number in the US. Produced principally by Grammywinner, Rick Rubin, 21 has garnered critical as well as popular acclaim.
Tinie Tempah
Don’t Look Behind You by SOnance HOtel is the brainchild of Brian Gallagher, the Dublin musician and songwriter who made his reputation as the drummer with Humanzi and The Mighty Stef. The title prefigures a change of musical direction as well as lifestyle brought about by the birth of his first child. Though originally a home recording project, the finished album contains a beautiful blend of electronic music production, simple songwriting and intelligent musicianship which is in essence the work of one person as all the material was composed, arranged, performed and produced by Gallagher.
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Auspicious debut from SOnance HOtel
P. J. Harvey
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All Black to the Future
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It was Mark Twain who said that distance lends enchantment to the view. I wonder. Does the perspective of almost a quarter of a century cast a nostalgic light on the first small steps towards what is now the third-biggest sporting event on the planet? Back in the 1980s there was no great desire among the British and Irish Rugby Unions for a global competition. Wasn’t the Five Nations doing just fine, and didn’t the Lions – the finest exponents of this amateur game – go off every three years to engage the best of the southern hemisphere. Three problems here, though. France was out of this particular loop. South Africa could only play at home because of the continuing boycott over apartheid. And Australia and New Zealand were fighting a rearguard action against the onward march of professionalism by Rugby League. The first tournament in 1987 was jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia. The senior nations – the members of the International Rugby Board excluding South Africa – would take part by right while the remaining nine places would be filled by invitation. It went very much as expected, with the seven member nations of the IRB claiming the quarterfinal spots, along with Fiji. Ireland were beaten in the last eight by Australia, who, in turn, went out in the semi-final. France met the
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All Black star, Kieran Read, in action against Australia in the recent Bledisloe Cup Match in Auckland. (Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Photosport.co.nz)
other co-hosts in the final. New Zealand’s David Kirk hoisted the Webb Ellis Cup – the only AllBlack ever to do so. England are also one-time winners – in 2003 – while both Australia (in 1991 and 1999) and South Africa (in 1995 and 2007) have won it twice. The Rugby World Cup has packed a lot into its 25 years. And when New Zealand and Tonga kick it off in Auckland on September 9, it’ll be the start of a veritable feast – 48 matches in 44 days – with days being the operative word, for kick-off times for fans here range from 2am (for Scotland against Romania
on Day Two) to 9am for the semis and final. The tournament is seeded, though not as previously on past performance at the event, but rather on the World Rankings at the time of the draw, in December 2008 – which is clearly more fair. There are four pools comprising five teams, and the top two in each will advance to the quarterfinals. The top team in Ireland’s group – Pool C – is Australia, one of the tournament favourites, but there is no reason why Declan Kidney’s XV shouldn’t progress alongside the Wallabies. Until their narrow defeat in the recent friendly at Murrayfield,
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Back in March, Ireland had regressed in terms of 6 Nations ambition, with the title beyond them by then, but there was that rousing end-of-term 24-8 victory that ensured that England, though champions, ended their first visit to the Aviva Stadium suitably chastened. Declan Kidney never made any bones about the fact that his team was a work in progress with New Zealand always on the horizon. On balance, notwithstanding some apparent uncertainties in performance as the main event has approached, you have to feel he’s got it right.
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Ireland were sitting at four in the World Rankings, the top northern hemisphere side. Ireland will already have played the USA when they meet Australia on Saturday September 17, and they’ll follow that with fixtures against Russia and Italy. The RBS 6 Nations performances since the last World Cup suggest a team holding on to its status. The Grand Slam of 2009 should have been followed by another title. Had they not fallen to a late penalty against Scotland, and had England been able to summon up the blood and deny France a Grand Slam, Ireland would have been champions.
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David Marty of France tests the quality of Rob Kearney’s shirt in the recent warm-up match in Bordeaux (Photo: INPHO/Billy Stickland).
But how right, how good, and how far? Well, the last eight for sure. The quarter-final opponents for Ireland will be the top two from the pool of Fiji, Namibia, Samoa, South Africa, and Wales, with South Africa and Wales my favourites to finish one and two. If Australia beat Ireland, who then finish second, we will almost certainly meet South Africa. If that happens, it is unlikely that Ireland’s greatest World Cup achievement – four quarter-finals out of the six tournaments – will be surpassed. New Zealand, perennial top dogs away from this stage, have just that inaugural victory in 1987, and have only once been in the World Cup Final since, back in 1995. It’s almost unbelievable. But they are the hosts for the first time since the beginning, and that must surely be a factor. Their pool also involves France, Canada, Japan, and Tonga. No doubt the latter pair will thrill with their varying degrees of unorthodoxy, but it’s made for the hosts and the French to emerge, to meet the best of England’s group, that also features Argentina, Georgia, Romania, and Scotland. England’s current form suggests a place in the last eight, alongside Argentina, who, let it not be forgotten, finished third last time out. At this point, rational analysis gives way to speculation – founded on little more than guesswork. But these would be my quarter-final pairings: Australia v Wales, Argentina v France, South Africa v Ireland, and New Zealand v England. From there, the semi-finalists would be Australia v France, and South Africa v New Zealand. And having managed to avoid the other heavyweights of the southern hemisphere, Australia should make the final against New Zealand who should win it. 24 years. A long, long time to spend underachieving. But back on their own sod, it’s as good a time as any for the All Blacks to shine again.
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with GEORGE HAMILTON
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Across: 1. Collapse (9) 6. Lorry (5) 9. Oak fruit (5) 10. Learned discussion (9) 11. Tropical area said to be the lungs of the Earth (10) 12. For one time (4) 14. Graceful artistry (7) 15. Shameful controversy (7) 17. Credit (7) 19. Absence of order (7) 20. Small measure (4) 22. Decontaminated or rendered infertile (10) 25. Openings (9) 26. Worthless (2,3) 27. Keen (5) 28. Thrown away (9)
Down: 1. Former British premier (5) 2. Passionate (9) 3. River bird (10) 4. Notice (7) 5. Vengeful rival (7) 6. Norse god of thunder (4) 7. IBOA for example (5) 8. South African mining city (9) 13. Film starring Bogart and Bergman (10) 14. Manufacture (9) 16. German dog breed (9) 18. Went in (7) 19. Takes into custody (7) 21. UK’s deputy premier (5) 23. Fear (5) 24. Featured performer (4) Union No ..............
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Across: 1. Cartridge; 6. Paper; 9. Badge; 10. Ballerina; 11. Locomotive; 12. Stag; 14. Painted; 15. Nicosia; 17. Tunisia; 19. Evinced; 20. Inch; 22. Blistering; 25. Tolerance; 26. Tripe; 27. Crony; 28. Annulment. Down: 1. Cabal; 2. Reduction; 3. Rheumatism; 4. Debated; 5. Enliven; 6. Peer; 7. Point; 8. Rearguard; 13. Accidental; 14. Patriotic; 16. Sacrifice; 18. Atlanta; 19. Epstein; 21. Cello; 23. Great; 24. Prey.
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The winning entry for the prize crossword competition in the last issue was submitted by Declan Fogarty of Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
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Use the first letter of the surnames of each of the musicians pictured to spell out the surname of a sporting personality. Answers on a post card, please, with your name, address and e-mail address and IBOA membership number to Picture Board, Spectrum, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8. A prize of ¤30 will be awarded to the sender of the first correct entry drawn from our post bag on September 30, 2011. The winner of the last Picture Board quiz was Mary O’Donnell of Killybegs, Co. Donegal. The answer was Cameron.
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awarded to the sender of the first correct entry drawn from our post bag on September 30, 2011. All entries should be sent to Sudoku, Spectrum, IBOA – The Finance Union, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8. You can submit your entry on a photo copy of the grid – if you would prefer not to cut up the magazine. The winning entry for the Sudoku Challenge in the last issue was submitted by Olive Hill of Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Name....................................................... Union No: ................................... Address ......................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................... E-mail Address .............................................................................................. Employer.................................. Branch/Dept...............................................
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Janet Jackson
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£11k a minute for Janet Boardroom malfunction at Deutsche Bank? The decision by Deutsche Bank to pay Janet Jackson £500,000 for a performance lasting 45 minutes at a party for its UK customers last month provoked a good deal of controversy in certain parts of the British media. Ms. Jackson is reported to have earned over £11,000 a minute – or just under £200 for every second – she was on stage. However, the German-owned bank felt these attacks on its profligacy were totally unjustified since it had made a that the GovernWith events in Britain takreal effort to show restraint compared ment should ignore ing a surreal turn recently to the near limitless entertainment EU labour regulations with the unprecedented budgets of its boom-time heyday! by withdrawing maternity reversal of fortune for In 2007, for example, the Rolling leave (to encourage Rupert Murdoch’s NewsStones are reputed to have been paid employers to hire women, Corp, followed by a week over £3m for a Deutsche command apparently!). of looting across Engperformance while in 2004 Kylie Minogue He also advocates land, it has become open is believed to have earned £2m. that all consumer rights season for all kinds of So Deutsche really has turned over be suspended for nine plans to “fix” Britain. a new leaf in its strenuous efforts to months to help kickstart UK Government policy eliminate wasteful expenditure! retail sales (because there’s strategist, Steve Hilton, No doubt the large numbers of staff clearly nothing that will who has previously been who may soon be made redundant – if encourage consumers to described as “David current media speculation proves to be buy products more than Cameron’s brain,” seems correct – will also appreciate the new the knowledge that they to have really hit the prudent approach taken by their erstwill have absolutely no mother-lode in “Torywhile bosses. come-back if anything blue sky thinking” with Meanwhile, Ms. Jackson is laughing goes wrong!) his latest suggestions all the way to the bank!
Rupert Murdoch
Mr. Blue-Sky
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Though Hilton’s nutty notions may never be acted upon, they can make something slightly less outrageous seem reasonable – like another proposal to remove protection from the more vulnerable while preserving the assets and the lifestyles of the fabulously wealthy.
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with STEPHEN MALONE
Evil empire begins to crumble Call it synchronicity, call it coincidence, call it serendipity. But did you notice that the turning point in the News of the World/News International phonehacking story came in the same week as the world premiere of the final film in the Harry Potter saga?
Voldemort
Summary justice (or justice for some!)
For anyone who ever wondered why journalists are frequently referred to as “hacks,” the recent revelations about the activities of various employees of the News of the World should have been quite enlightening!
The sheeer speed and alacrity with which the British judicial system kicked in to hang, draw and quarter (metaphorically speaking) those involved in the preseason rioting was quite breathtaking. The wheels of justice can often turn exceedingly slowly – especially if the case involves some white-collar miscreant like a dodgy banking boss who has done billions’ worth of damage to the economy. Of course, that hardly counts as a crime because the ordinary tax-payer will obligingly pick up the tab. But looting shops and criminal damage could cost insurance companies a small fortune – and that’s just intolerable!
So in some parts of England, courts were sitting right through the night in order to process the ne’er-do-wells as rapidly as possible. The general media outcry for rough justice was to be expected – especially from the News International titles desperate to shift the focus away from the phone hacking scandal. But some supposedly respected opinion formers also got carried away with the demand to evict families from local authority housing if one of the household was arrested (not even convicted, mind) for involvement in the riots. And that makes sense because if the family is homeless, they’ll obviously be far less linclined to steal things in future!
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(That’s enough epic hyperbole until we know who’s going to come out on top – Ed).
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So are we really witnessing the beginning of the end of the Dark Lord’s tyranny? Could Voldemort’s overweaning arrogance finally be his undoing? Or will he find a way to re-enslave or destroy those who are now struggling to shake off his tyrannical yoke? And will Murdoch’s Fox News Channel in the US finally start to carry reports on foxes?
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Suddenly it all becomes crystal clear as News International’s death eaters, led by Rupert Voldemort and Bellatrix Brooks with Draco Cameron in tow, line up against the scarred boy wizard, Harry Miliband. Even Harry’s mentor, Gordon Dumbledore, tried to add to Voldemort’s agony with one last strike from beyond the grave. Like a twenty-first century Nostradamus – except one with a talent for prophecy, obviously – J. K. Rowling seems to have foretold it all with an uncanny sense of accuracy.
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