Bank employees urge solons to aid in stopping massive outsourcing in banking industry

* Press Release of the BFU 268 alliance, or the Bank and Financial Unions against BSP circular 268

While banking companies always boast of their promise to secure the future of their clients, they clearly prove otherwise in their own backyard, as thousand of bank workers stand to lose jobs due to an onerous outsourcing policy cued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) itself.

Employees of leading banking institutions trooped to Congress today to raise their issues against BSP Circular 268 and other issuances that allowed the outsourcing of up to 59 banking positions. Led by the Bank and Financial Unions against circular 268 (BFU 268), union officers from Bank of Philippine Islands, Citibank, Hongkong Shanghai Bank, Philippine National Bank, Planters Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, and Veterans Bank picketed the Congress gates before attending the Congress Committee on Labor hearing scheduled today in response to BFU 268 and Anakpawis partylist’s consistent lobbying.

“With the advent of the global economic crisis, banks, as crucial players to such crisis, have also became prime implementors of ‘cost-cutting’ measures assaulting the basic rights of workers,” said Resty Figueroa of the BFU 268 secretariat and the Planters Bank Employees’ Association. 

“Amidst the crisis, banks still rake in billions of profits while its workers suffer from retrenchments, low wages and meager benefits.” BPI, for example, earned 8.5 billion in net profits last year, a third higher than in 2008.

“Banks are bailed out by people’s taxes as initiated by government, while their people are batted with job massacres as authorized by government, too. BSP circular 268 and subsequent circulars were enacted for the clear interest of bank owners, never for the workers,” Figueroa added.

The BFU 268 alliance cited that since circular 268 was enacted in December 2000, bank braches grew by 300, and overall income of banks grew by 3 percent from 2007 to 08. Rank and file employees, meanwhile were slashed by 16% in thrift banks, and 2% in commercial banks.

Banking functions allowed to be outsourced under BSP circ 268 are information technology system, clearing and processing of checks, credit card services, credit investigation and appraisal, processing of bank statements, accounting, cashiering, property management, processing of import/export transactions and courier services. “Essentially, only the management positions are left safe!” Figueroa said.

BFU also mentioned that such outsourcing scheme is a case of labor-only contracting prohibited under Labor Code article 280, which states that if the nature of work is essential to a company, and it has sufficient capital for such operations, then its employees should not be outsourced.

“The general public also has a direct stake here, since processing of confidential documents are allowed to be outsourced, confidentially of their money are also put to to risk,” said Joseph Macalinao, also of the BFU secretariat and President of PNB employees association.

“We urge our lawmakers to take side with bank employees in our fight to immediately repeal BSP’s outsourcing circulars and to protect our basic rights,” Macalinao added.

“We enjoin all bank workers, and workers from others industries as well, to unite in the fight for job security, for future of the people are never safe with greedy bank corporations at the helm, contrary to what they always promise,” Macalinao said. #