Bradford urges Taranaki to support its local bank staff

Green MP Sue Bradford is urging the public to get behind TSB bank staff in their fight to get a collective contract.

The Green Industrial Relations spokesperson said she hoped last night's community support meeting in New Plymouth would send the message to TSB management about how poorly the public viewed the way they were treating their staff.

"The Green Party has traditionally been a big fan of the TSB, as our economic policy very much supports the notion of locally owned banking," said Sue Bradford. "We've been supportive of the TSB's effort to grow a national, New Zealand-owned bank out of its traditional Taranaki base.

"However, in recent months we have been disturbed to learn that in fact this growth may have been partially at the expense of staff who earn far less than those at other banks, and who have not had a collective contract since being locked out in 1991 at the time of the Employment Contracts Act.

"We've had the Employment Relations Act for three years, now, and it's time the TSB moved into the 21st century and woke up to the fact that it is possible to be both a good bank for its customers and a good employer of its staff - the two do not have to be mutually exclusive.

"I hope the TSB will bargain in good faith when negotiations start today for its workers' first collective deal since they were locked out 12 years ago," said Sue Bradford.

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