UNI Finance Priorities 2010/2011

The UNI Finance Steering Group, meeting on 9 June, decided to continue the priorities adopted in December last year.
1. Shaping a new regulatory and supervisory framework for the finance industry
UNI Finance together with its affiliats, will influence decisionmakers, the public and other stakeholders at all levels in line with UNI Finance policies on financial reform.
2. Sales versus advice: towards stricter legal obligations and a charter on responsible sales of financial products
UNI Finance together with its affiliates will campaign for a business model, internal operating procedures and working conditions that treat both customers and workers fairly and ensure a sustainable finance industry. The principles are laid down in a charter launched in June 2010. The campaign will also be used to enhance the cooperation among affiliates through UNI Finance’s G20 network that was established in February 2009.
3. Campaigning for global agreements and the right to organise in Santander and HSBC.
In the two banks, UNI Finance together with its affiliates will:
- campaign for the conclusion of global agreements;
- develop trade union alliances;
- strengthen union structures at local, national and regional level;
- start creating union structures and recruit members where workers have been denied the right to belong to unions, including in the USA.
4. Towards transnational frameworks of industrial relations in multinational finance companies
Key target companies for UNI Finance include Barclays, Dexia, Nordea, UniCredit, Banco do Brasil and Bank of Baroda. They also will develop a trade union alliance for Axa in the Apro Region with close links to affiliates in Axa in Europe.
5. Ensuring full transparency and proper consultation of labour in restructuring processes
UNI Finance together with its affiliats will insist that companies as well as governmental actors at national, European and international level consult unions and employees on restructuring across all countries affected. Compulsory redundancies must be avoided.