Finance & Legal Sector

Brexit:Unite demands protections for you

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The referendum result on 23rd June sentshock waves throughout the UK, makingthe whole political class sit up and takenotice.

Unite recognises that millions of working people,including many of our members voted to exit theEU. The question now is on whose terms will Brexithappen?

We must unite to make sure that Brexit happens onour terms – protecting jobs and retaining vitalworkers’ rights while outlining our vision for Post-Brexit Britain.

The same out-of-touch Tory government whichcalled the referendum now has no plan for dealingwith the result. That negligence has led touncertainty which threatens all sectors of oureconomy – from manufacturing, to transport andfinance.

As the financial crisis proved, in Tory Britain it isworking people who are always forced to pay theprice in times of uncertainty. A Tory vision of Brexitwould see further austerity and attacks on ourworking rights, while racism and division would beallowed to run unchecked in our communities. Brexit must not be used as an excuse to cut jobs,move work out of the UK or attack workers’ rights.

We cannot sit back and accept Brexit on the Tories’terms.

Unite is demanding a new industrial strategy, a planwhich includes all our sectors, with proper jobs,decent pay and strong working rights at its heart.

Such a strategy must use every tool at thegovernment’s disposal including: plugging the skillsgap by supporting apprenticeships; use of the publicsector procurement to support manufacturing;removing barriers to reshoring jobs; and directsupport for our strategic industries such as steeland energy.

This should culminate in new infrastructure projectsto create jobs and grow our economy. Such astrategy would make sure Britain retains the best ofthe EU, while putting trade union values at thecentre of Post-Brexit Britain.

Brexit: Unite demandsprotections for you

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Nobody knows how long theBrexit negotiations will takeor what the outcome will be.One thing is certain. Unite willdefend our members. Togetherwe will campaign to protectjobs, pay and conditions.Len McCluskey, Unite General Secretary

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We Won't Pay for ‘Brexit’: Exitingthe EU must not result in a renewedattack on our jobs, rights andcommunities.

• Article 50: The government mustnot trigger ‘Article 50’ before a clearnegotiating position has a mandatefrom the people via a vote inParliament.

• Access to the Single Market:Tariff-free access to the SingleMarket is vital to defend jobs. Suchaccess will allow us to retain thebest of the EU, while committing toa much needed industrial strategy.

• A Seat at the Table for Workers:The collective voice of millions ofworking people must be central tothe negotiations.

• An Ambitious Industrial Strategy:The only way to mitigate the impactof Brexit is with an ambitiousindustrial strategy, using all optionsat the government’s disposal.

Brexit and the Finance SectorThe UK’s place in the European Union,particularly preferential access to the SingleMarket, has been central to the growth of thefinance sector. This is especially true forbanking.

Yet, this growth has not been even and itsbenefits have not been shared. For the lasteight years workers across the finance sector,especially the retail banks have been forcedto pay the price for the crash of 2008.

From the closing of pension schemes tothousands of job cuts, we have been forcedto shoulder the cost of a crisis we did notcause. We cannot allow ‘Brexit’ to be arepeat of 2008.

Unite notes that ‘ring-fencing’ legislationwhich seeks to separate investment banksfrom retail operations will come into effect in2019, the same year the UK is expected to exitfrom the EU.

It is vital that any threat by the investmentbanks to relocate from London must not bepassed down to workers in the retail banks.Similarly, the uncertainty must not be used asan excuse to further close branches oroffshore support functions.

When it comes to negotiating a new tradedeal between the UK and the EuropeanUnion, Unite will not allow the governmentto pit one part of our union against theother. From manufacturing to transport, maintaining tariff-free access to the SingleMarket is just as important as the‘passporting’ rights needed by the financesector.

Unite is committed to defending everymember from the impact of Brexit, nomatter your sector.

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The government has signalled that the UKis likely to leave the European Union inMarch 2019, but that doesn’t mean Brexitwon’t have an immediate impact in ourworkplaces.

Already several large companies, from Siemens toVauxhall, have made statements about futureinvestment decisions that may threaten jobs. Uniteis demanding that the government end theuncertainty by stating that guaranteed tariff-freeaccess to the Single Market will be a red line in thecoming negotiations.

Similarly, Unite is demanding that all workers’rights, health and safety standards and consultationrights which are underpinned by EU law areretained in UK law when Brexit takes effect.

There is no doubt that employers may look to takeadvantage of the uncertainty, using Brexit as a coverto cut investment or undermine our rights.

• If you sit on a European Works Councils orSocial Dialogue project you cannot beexcluded while the UK remains a memberof the EU.

• Employers cannot opt out of EU legalrulings, such as the ruling protectingholiday pay, which remain in effect.

• Employers cannot claim that legislationsuch as the Working Time Directive, theAgency Worker Directive or the DrivingHours Directive no longer applies to UKworkers.

The Impact of Brexit in the Workplace

Brexit In Your WorkplaceUnite will be launching a new ‘BrexitCheck’ website to monitor the impactof Brexit and provide the resources

you need.

Let us know what impact Brexit ishaving in your workplace. Contact:financenews@unitetheunion.org

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A Time to Unite:Fighting Racismwith SolidarityIt is a guiding principle of ourmovement that an injury to one is aninjury to all. That means Unite iscommitted to opposing any incidenceof racism, prejudice or sectariandivision in the workplace.

The EU referendum was divisive. Opinionswere strongly held, debate was heated andsome of the deep divisions in our societywere exposed.

Right-wing politicians and their allies in themedia did all they could to sow distrust andexploit these divisions for their own ends.

No matter which way you voted, the prioritynow is to unite.

As Britain prepares to withdraw from theEuropean Union, the resulting uncertaintymay once again give way to fear.

It is a priority of our union not only to defendour members’ jobs, but to defend their safety.Unite will continue to defend EU nationalsand other migrant workers who live and workin the UK. We support their right to remain.

It is our role, as workplace representativesand shop stewards, to take the lead and makesure that solidarity triumphs over division.

Defending YourWorkplace: MakeYour Voice HeardOur strength as a trade union comes from ourorganisation in the workplace. It is vital thatwe use this strength to protect our membersfrom the possible impact of Brexit.

• You have the right to disclosure.Demand that your employer sharesinformation about their plannedresponse to Brexit, including plansfor future investment.

• If you have pay talks or othernegotiations planned demand thatyour employer publically pledges toretain all working rights, terms andconditions, including access toEuropean Works Councils.

• Can you organise a branch orworkplace meeting to discuss theimpact of Brexit at work and how toorganise our response?

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The world of work is changing around us. Since2008 our sector has experienced a rapid rate ofchange, which is only accelerating in the face of anew wave of digitisation.

For many of our members, this is a familiar story.Bank branches are replaced by Phone Apps, vitalsupport functions are off-shored and customersare forced to deal with automated ‘Robo advisers’.Taken together, Brexit and digitisation demandthat we reflect on the changes facing our jobs, andhow we can make sure those changes happen onour terms.

Ending Offshoring: Organising to WinIn 2016, our members at Legal & General, Capita,Scottish Widows, Irish Life and Prudential allshowed that by organising we can defend ourmembers

It is vital that we ensure digitisation does not createa downward pressure on jobs, terms and conditions.Instead we must demand, and organise, to seechange happen on our terms.

We must call for reskilling and opportunities forredeployment for any impacted members, whiledemanding young workers are offered new digitalapprenticeships with real prospects for secure work.Our strength as a trade union relies on our ability toeffectively organise our workplaces to give ourmembers the strongest collective voice possible.

Industrial Strategy for FinanceUnite is calling for an economy wide IndustrialStrategy to make sure secure work, decent pay anda strong collective voice are at the centre of Post-Brexit Britain.

The finance sector must play an integral part ofsuch a strategy. Unite is calling for a stateinvestment bank, which can give SME businessesaccess to financial support. Unite also supports theFinancial Transaction Tax - also known as the RobinHood Tax – to ensure the investment banks andother City giants pay their share.

For our sector, such a strategy would see thereshoring of customer services, IT and other vitalsupport functions. It would also end precariouswork – to make sure that from call centres to bankbranches, our members are supported to succeed.

Brexit and Your Sector

Brexit and the Finance Sector

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In May 2016 Prudential announced plans to offshore82 Annuity Servicing and Bereavement jobs fromReading to Mumbai. The company had alwaysclaimed the work was too complex to offshore;however, the opportunity to make quick savingsfinally proved too tempting.

When the announcement came, Unite membershipin the area stood at 39%. The union reps knew thatwe needed to build our support if we were to havethe collective strength to save these jobs. By settingout a campaign plan membership was increased to60% in a matter of weeks.

With the recruitment campaign in full swing, thereps worked with members to draw up a five pointplan to save the jobs:

1) Ballot for Industrial Action with arecommendation for a strong ‘Yes’ vote forsupporting strike action and for actionshort of a strike

2) A campaign of ‘non-cooperation’, wherewe pledged not to help move the workabroad

3) Linking the need to save jobs with a widercampaign to reveal how offshoring is “Badfor the customer, bad for Prudential andbad for jobs.”

4) Build support among the wider unionmembership

5) Build support with the public, reachingthem via the media.

It was a big step to ballot the members, but theresult was overwhelming. 100% of the memberssupported our campaign of non-cooperation, while97% backed strike action. With a turnout of 75%,this put us on a strong footing to force managementto the negotiating table. It certainly made thecompany sit up – this was the first time membershad taken any form of industrial action in thePrudential since 1990!

We escalated the action by launching our campaignof non-cooperation, which immediately had amassive impact. Work can only be ‘migrated’offshore if the people losing their jobs agree to trainthose who will replace them! Every company relieson this ‘knowledge transfer’, which gives anorganised union a tactical advantage.

Forced to rely on out of date manuals for training,the company ended up employing staff offshorewho were unlicensed to do the job. This was vitalevidence we could use to show how the offshoringwas putting customers at risk.

We received great support from the localcommunity, handing out over 2000 leaflets tomembers of the public and receiving very positivepress coverage. Our PR campaign clearly struck achord as all the media coverage was supportive ofour campaign.

After a partial climb down, Prudential eventuallyannounced that the jobs would be saved. They evensigned a no compulsory redundancy agreement.This was a great victory for our members. Itreaffirmed the number 1 lesson: if you’re organisedyou can win!

Organising Can Defeat Offshoring:

Victory At Prudential Steve O’Donnell, Unite Senior Rep, Prudential

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Not yet a member of Unite? Join today: www.unitetheunion.org/joinwww.unitetheunion.org @unitetheunion

Q) How Can Workers’ Rights beProtected?From equal pay to the Working Time Directive, EUlaws underpin many of the rights and protectionstrade unions have fought for. These must beprotected by UK law and retained in full from themoment Brexit takes effect. We must also use ourstrength in the workplace to demand thatemployers publically pledge to retain all rights,terms and conditions, including access toEuropean Works Councils.

Q) What is Article 50?Article 50 is a clause in the Treaty of Lisbon, whichacts as the constitution for the European Union. Itis the legal mechanism which starts the two-yearcount down for exiting the EU. Once it is triggeredthis process is irreversible and the UK’s futurerelationship with the EU must be negotiated. Thealternative is ‘Hard Brexit’ where no deal isreached. This is why a vote in Parliament must beheld on the government’s plan for the negotiationsbefore Article 50 is triggered. The Tories must notbe allowed to negotiate behind closed doors.

Q) What About ‘Hard Brexit’?If the UK fails to negotiate a new trade deal withthe EU in the two-year window that follows thetriggering of Article 50 the result is ‘Hard Brexit’.This would result in the UK falling back on WorldTrade Organisation rules, which means costlytariffs. This could be as much as 10% on all exportsand 4% on imports, which would hitmanufacturing hard as it would sever UK-European supply chains. It would also result in anew cost of living crisis with a dramatic rise in costof imports such as food and consumer goods.This is why tariff-free access to the Single Marketis vital to defend jobs.

Q) What Alternatives are there to EUmembership?Unite has analysed the most commonlymentioned alternatives to full EU membershipincluding the so-called ‘Norwegian’ and ‘Swiss’options, as well as trade deals based on CETA andTTIP. It is clear that none of these models aresuitable for the UK. Instead tariff-free access to theSingle Market must be secured, allowing agovernment with the political will to keep all that ispositive about the EU, while also retaining the rightto intervene directly in support of our industries.As the government’s cowardice to confront thesteel crisis shows, intervention is a question ofpolitical will. It is Unite’s job to pile on the politicalpressure to make sure that will is exercised.Any new free trade deals must not be based on thefailed models of TTIP or CETA. Workers’ rightsmust be guaranteed, there must be no ‘ISDS’secret courts and there must be strong tradedefence mechanisms to prevent the illegaldumping of Chinese steel, tyres or ceramics.

Q) What Happens Next?Unite will be lobbying the governments ofWestminster and the devolved countries to makesure our collective voice is heard. The true powerof our union is our strength in the workplace. Wemust organise to use this strength to protect ourmembers from the impact of Brexit. Discuss theimpact of Brexit at your next union branchmeeting and campaign for your employer topublically pledge to retain all workers’ rights,standards and protections. Brexit must not besomething our union simply watches from theside-lines. We have a unique role to play inprotecting and advancing the interests of ourmembers.

Frequently Asked Questions

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