A Banking Christmas Carol
Issued on December 11, 2009 at 03:13 PM
Scrooge and the Ghosts of Banking Past, Present and Future
An update of Dickens's A Christmas Carol provides a cautionary tale for the financial sector as the ghosts of Banking Past, Banking Present and Banking Future warn Mr. Scrooge of the ruin that awaits the industry if it does not rebuild itself in a fair and transparent way that respects customers and workers.
The performance was held at the UNI Europa Finance conference inDublin today. About 200 trade unionists representing finance sector workers from throughout Europe and around the world are at the UNI Europa Finance Conference in Dublin Thursday and Friday to discuss the future of the finance industry. Delegates from unions from 25 European countries and observers from another 12 countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas are at the Grand Hotel in Malahide to coordinate their plans to fight for a new level of transparency in labour representation in the restructuring of the finance industry.
The delegates plan to advocate for regulation and supervision created at a global level to cover all financial products and players in the industry and to ensure that trade unions are represented in supervisory structures.
The centrepiece of UNI Europa Finance's response to the crisis is the call to give workers the right to serve their customers' best interests.
Sales targets at banks have put ordinary employees in a situation where they cannot give good advice to their customers. As Scrooge finds out in the play, this model can only lead to the downfall of the industry.
