Republic Bank stands firm on salary package

This view was articulated by the bank’s managing director, David Dulal-Whiteway, and general manager human resources, Charmaine Caballero, in an interview with Newsday at the bank’s Park Street head office yesterday.

Apart from taking a bite out of the bank’s profits, Dulal-Whiteway said if the bank should settle too high, the bank could set a precedent which could adversely affect the economy. He maintained that the bank’s salaries were already on the "upper end" and "we will actually cause a push and put us back as a country, because inflation will increase — the same thing we are trying to deal with, we will end up being the cause."

Negotiations have been taking place since June and Republic Bank staffers at various branches have staged lunchtime protests. Last month, after 16 meetings, the bank referred the matter to the Ministry of Labour. BIGWU wants all workers to get a $400 monthly increase, then the 16 percent increase. Its starting position was 38 percent. The bank has put a lumpsum one-time payment of $600 for full-time workers, and $500 for part-time and 16 percent increase, on the table. The bank’s starting position was six percent.

Dulal-Whiteway said just the $400 increase would cost the bank an additional $50 million for the three-year period. While the total package tabled by the union could cost an additional $104 million. Forty-eight percent of the Republic Bank group’s bottom line came from TT.

"We have to make sure whatever increases we give we have the resources locally. It is an increased cost."

The bank’s increased profits have been raised as a justification for the increases demanded, but he said for the past 30 years workers have benefited from the profits.

"This year that represents 12 percent of our Trinidad operations profits and seven percent of the group’s (we have operations outside Trinidad) overall profits after taxes."

He said the sum this year was almost $60 million, an increase from last year when it was $49 million. Dulal-Whiteway said there is a bonus plan for workers ranging between four and nine percent depending on the worker’s performance appraisal.

He said through profit-sharing (an average of 25 percent of workers’ salaries) plus the bonus (eg a worker rated high and getting nine percent) a worker could get 34 percent added to their salary.

Highlighting other benefits to workers, he said there was a pension and health plan which is subsidised by the bank, special loan rates, life insurance plan, maternity/paternity leave.

Caballero said the bank’s pension plan is an indexed linked plan which gives workers increases according to inflation. Dulal-Whiteway said the bank’s "philosophy" in dealing with compensation packages was to always pay a competitive salary.

He said a comparison of salaries in the financial sector found that the bank’s salaries were on par or above the market. "In total I think we have a package that is extremely competitive, and when one looks at it we do not see the need to go beyond what we are offering now 6-4-6 for the three-year period." Another meeting between the Republic Bank team and BIGWU took place at 1.30 pm yesterday.