Pay increases, the rise of artificial intelligence and staff surveillance are among the topics to be discussed at the triennial conference of the Financial Services Union (FSU) which opens in Belfast.
Delegates will vote on 26 motions covering issues such as the four-day week, branch closures and collective bargaining.
In his opening address to the conference, FSU General Secretary John O’Connell will call for pay increases for bank workers.
“We will enter pay negotiations this year with the clear ambition to significantly raise pay for our members,” Mr O’Connell will say.
“Starting rates of pay in banking are not sustainable and have to be increased. Staff cannot afford to rent a home never mind buy their own home,” according to his opening remarks.
The FSU also represents workers in the tech sector.
“It has been a turbulent time for this sector with redundancy after redundancy announcements and fear and anxiety from workers rampant within the sector,” Mr O’Connell will say.
“The big difference between this sector and other areas where we represent workers is these companies currently refuse to speak to unions, refuse to accept that workers should be represented by a union and refuse all requests from workers for representation,” delegates will hear.
This year, the Government will transpose the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages which seeks to promote collective bargaining.
Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation between employers and employee representatives such as trade unions.
This weekend’s FSU conference will hear calls for the Government to transpose the directive in a ‘worker centric’ way that includes new legislation that protects workers from discrimination.
The key note speaker at the conference is Kelly M Fay Rodríguez, US Special Representative for International Labour Affairs, who will speak about collective bargaining and the purpose and role of trade unions.
Article Source – FSU conference to discuss pay, AI and surveillance – RTE
