Heartland Bank staff go on strike for 'cost of living' wage increase

Tuesday, 27 October 2020

Heartland Bank pays below market rates, claims First Union.

Unionised workers at Heartland Bank in Auckland are on strike after failing to secure a “meaningful” increase in wages.

Heartland Bank has made headlines in recent weeks after it slashed its home loan rates below those of the big banks. The strike action comes just months after Heartland Bank became an accredited Living Wage employer.

Tali Williams, First Union secretary for retail and finance, said Heartland was paying the striking staff below market rates.

'Bargaining with Heartland has been fraught and members are taking strike action after engaging in good faith since their agreement expired in June of this year,' said Williams.

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Keira Billot, chief people and culture officer at Heartland Bank, said: ”Heartland has negotiated with First Union members in good faith and is disappointed that negotiations have led to strike action.”

The union had around 23 members at Heartland out of a total of 550 employees, Billot said.

Williams said: 'It’s not an action taken lightly but Heartland workers have had enough of being taken for granted and paid an estimated 20 to 30 per cent below the industry average across bank brands.”

The bank had not offered a cost-of-living pay rise this year, Williams said.

Other banks, including ABS, ANZ, Westpac and BNZ, all of which were also living wage employers, had offered their staff pay rises this year, Williams said.

“We are just asking for a cost of living increase,” Williams said. “We are not asking for a 20 per cent increase.”

Billot said the bank had given its workers the equivalent of a 3 per cent pay rise by changing the way it structured KiwiSaver.

And, she said: “We have recognised the efforts of our employees this year in the form of an at minimum $500 recognition payment for those who were with Heartland prior to 1 June 2020 to acknowledge the extra effort our people made during a challenging year.”

General practice nurses, reception and administration staff are striking over pay parity in Christchurch.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is running at 1.4 per cent, according to Stats NZ.

The union and the bank clashed over the bank cutting interest rates.

Williams said: 'Heartland have recently made the news for offering the lowest mortgage rate in New Zealand, but it’s clear that in-house, workers are paying for it.'

But Billot said the launch of the bank’s new home loan rate was due to its ability to digitalise the lending process.

Union members said their jobs had intensified due to the Covid-19 pandemic and many were feeling undervalued and underappreciated, Williams said.

Negotiations with the company had been ongoing since May, Williams said.

Heartland Bank became a Living Wage accredited employer in July

At the time, Billot said: “We realise the importance of people having access to a remuneration that can fairly accommodate them, leading to better quality of life and greater opportunities.”

“Our people are the most important part of who we are. Becoming an accredited Living Wage employer was the right thing to do for our Heartland whanau and to contribute to making a positive difference for New Zealanders.”

The Living Wage is currently $22.10 per hour.