Archive for January 2010
Held to ransom
Posted on January 19, 2010 by Seamas Sheils
A disturbing feature of recent hostage raids has been the willingness of gangs to target families with young children
By Larry Broderick
General Secretary
IBOA The Finance Union
After a relative lull in 2007 and 2008, the incidence of tiger kidnapping has increased dramatically during 2009. A major concern in the most recent spate of incidents has been the use of children as hostages.
While we would all wish it were otherwise, it is likely that the trend will continue during the economic downturn. The major criminal gangs who are being hurt by recent successes by the police authorities in intercepting illegal drugs and contraband are likely to look to other "softer targets." As their actions create the impression that banks are easy marks, there is every possibililty that smaller operators will engage in copy-cat activity - which is likely to put more bank employees at risk.
On Hold No More
Posted on January 01, 2010 by Seamas Sheils
The special issues facing staff in customer service departments are being highlighted in an ongoing campaign from IBOA - The Finance Union. The Customer Service Initiative, or CSi, has revealed a widespread demand from Union members for a major review of work practices in the customer service departments of major financial institutions.
The Union's CSi survey reveals that customer service staff are under growing pressure to meet numeric targets rather than address the actual queries and concerns of customers. Most worryingly the survey clearly identifies the priority Banks give to sales rather than service in this area of the business.
