It pays to be union!

Finsec members at BNZ Palmerston North were delighted with their recent experience of how it pays to be union.

Their manager asked them all if they would agree to change their hours in anticipation of the branch move into the local mall and to seven day operations. They all refused as they are entitled to do.

However, when the manager made the same approach to non-members they all agreed, which meant they were no longer eligible for overtime on Saturdays and penal payments on Sundays if they were working their ordinary hours.

If Finsec members are asked and agree to work  occasional Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays they will get time and a half on Saturdays, double time on Sundays and public holidays, and a day off in lieu if the public holiday is a day they usually work.  It pays to be Finsec!

Three reasons why PSIS doesn’t understand Better Banks

PSIS gave us their claims for employment negotiations last fortnight and sadly it is not good news. Finsec’s better banks campaign is meant to be about going forward, and improving bankers for workers companies and customers. But some times it also needs to be about protecting what we already have so things don’t get worse. Here’s three of PSIS’s claims that Finsec members don’t think meet the test of Better Banks.

PSIS are seeking to reduce overtime payment entitlements for part time staff. Under their proposal overtime will only be paid if someone works more than 37.5 hours a week or 7.5 hours in a day. Part time staff employed before July 2006 currently get overtime for any hours over and above their contracted number of hours. This proposal will pretty much remove overtime payments for those staff.

PSIS want to get rid of penal rates for weekend work. Currently PSIS staff get time and a half for working on Saturdays and double time for working on Sundays. Penal rates are payments for working on the weekend. They are a recognition that when people work on a Saturday or Sunday they are giving up the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, play sport or go to church. Penal rates are a way of financially recognising the importance of weekends.

PSIS want to reduce sick leave for new staff. Under the PSIS proposal new staff will have to wait until they have completed six months service instead of the current 3 months before they are entitled to any sick leave payments and the number of days new staff are entitled to will reduce from 10 to 5 days. Paid sick leave needs to be available when people are genuinely sick. It is important that people are not financially disadvantaged when they get sick. It is also important that people stay at home and get better when they are sick rather than coming into work and spreading illness around everyone else.