Union Attacks Lloyds For "Drip Feed" of Job Loss Announcements

Submitted by edg on Thu, 17 Mar '11 11.23pm

Lloyds Banking Group has been criticised by the union Unite for "drip feeding" staff job loss announcements as it takes on more agency staff.

David Fleming, national officer of union Unite said: “The news that Lloyds Banking Group is to cut a further 570 jobs and outsource another 600 jobs will be met with despair by the bank’s staff. Just two weeks ago this taxpayer supported organisation announced profits of £2.2 billion, yet this decision represents a total failure by Lloyds to recognise that this turnaround is the outcome of the work of their staff."

Ninety jobs will be lost in Scotland, most of them in Edinburgh.

“Unite strongly opposes any attempt by Lloyds to make compulsory redundancies and is demanding that the organisation ends this practice of drip feeding staff job loss announcements, while at the same time increasing the number of agency staff being taken on.”

Over two fifths of the Lloyds TSB Banking Group, which comprises of HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland is owned by the UK taxpayer.

On announcing the job losses, Lloyds Banking Group said that it "is committed to working through these changes with employees in a careful and sensitive way."