FSU calls for banking Royal Commission
Bank customers are well aware of the culture that treats them as a "sales target" and only a royal commission can properly examine conflicted remuneration and sales targets, a union believes.
The Finance Sector Union of Australia's (FSU's) acting national secretary, Geoff Derrick, has hit back at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's solution of calling bank bosses in for questioning before a Parliamentary committee to address banking concerns.
"Calling bank chief executives to Canberra isn't an adequate response to the problems of conflicted remuneration, sales targets, management culture, understaffing, offshoring, customer migration, branch closures, job security, and a work culture that creates stress for bank staff," Derrick said.
"This committee doesn't have the resources or the time to properly drill down into the causes of the current problems which have seen a loss of community confidence and trust in the banking sector."
Derrick said that only a royal commission into banking would have the power to compel witnesses, subpoena documents, and properly examine problems in the banking sector.
"Bank customers are well aware of the culture that treats them as a ‘sales target' whenever they engage with their bank," he said.
"And bank employees want to deliver service to their customers instead of being under constant pressure to just sell extra banking products, credit cards, and more debt."
Derrick said change needed to start at the top and to stop blame shifting to individuals and front-line workers.
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