Westpac workers say yes to pay deal

Finsec members took strike action at Westpac branches. Picture / Hawke's Bay Today

The three-month employment dispute at Westpac has come to an end with workers voting to accept the bank's latest offer on pay and conditions but there is still some horse trading to go on controversial sales targets.

Bank workers' union Finsec said about 87 per cent of its members employed by Westpac had accepted the latest offer bringing to an end the dispute during which industrial action by up to 1500 workers closed 26 Westpac branches around the country on the last business day before Christmas.

Finsec said it had negotiated an employment offer that included agreement to develop a new pay progression system that was not based solely on meeting targets. The offer also included the ability for some staff to advance through the pay scale based on experience.

The agreement will run for 16 months, instead of the 18 months previously offered and includes an across the board 5.2 per cent pay increase which will be backdated to January 1.

Finsec campaign director Karen Skinner said members were pleased the offer allowed them to talk to the bank about sales targets, how they were enforced and their impact on staff.

"A lot of employees at Westpac feel they give good customer service and are loyal workers, but were not moving through the pay scale because they could not reach their sales targets. Now hopefully we have an opportunity to solve that."

Westpac said workers' acceptance of the offer was pleasing.

"Our recent engagement with the union has been conducted in a constructive and open atmosphere, and I look forward to this continuing," consumer banking head Henry Ford said.

However, Skinner said there were further negotiations to be held between Finsec and Westpac regarding sales targets, "it's certainly in no way over".

She said Westpac's customers would benefit from the agreement's reduced emphasis on sales. "That's why it's important we keep the campaign around targets alive, not just in this bank but across the finance sector."

During the dispute, Finsec argued that sales targets in Westpac's previous offers were unrealistic and unethical and would force them to load customers with debt.

The dispute took place amid rising concerns from various sources including the Banking Ombudsman, that banks were sometimes being irresponsible in who they extended credit to.