- Target:
- bank customers, bank staff, locals, politicians
- Region:
- Australia
- Website:
- www.fsunion.org.au
St.George & BankSA staff and customers are opposed to the takeover by Westpac because:
1) Competition – The consumer advocate CHOICE says that the takeover has the potential to significantly reduce competition in the banking sector. Consumers need more competition, not less, in order to drive down fees. Australia needs more banks not fewer. The more the finance sector concentrates under fewer participants the less choice for consumers.
2) Jobs – if the takeover goes ahead the new group would have 30,000 employees. Industry analysts predict that 5,000 of these jobs could be cut. Indeed Westpac is flaunting that one of the benefits of the takeover would be the removal of duplicate infrastructure and the development of common processing and support systems.
The first to be affected will be back office functions – call centre, processing and support jobs. The propaganda from Westpac says that they will keep St George and BankSA branches, however the history of similar takeovers indicate that eventually the St George and BankSA brands will be phased out.
Over time the commerecial imperative would be to close down the St George/BankSA branch, and the bigger brand will prevail. It happened to Bank of Melbourne, despite what Westpac said at the time, and it will happen to St George and BankSA.
St George and BankSA staff also have a much better Enterprise Agreement than Westpac. St George staff stand to lose guaranteed salary increases, rest breaks, allowances and other entitlements.”
We do not believe that the Westpac merger with St George/BankSA will be in Australia's national interest.
To: The Honorable Wayne Swan MP, Australian Treasurer
We the below signed oppose the proposed takeover of St George / Bank SA by Westpac. We do not believe that the takeover will be for the good of the nation. We believe that the takeover will result in significant job losses and reduced competition. We call on the Treasurer to reject Westpac’s merger application.
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The Save St George/BankSA from the Westpac Merger! petition to bank customers, bank staff, locals, politicians was written by FSU and is in the category Employment at GoPetition.