The Australian Bankers Association has launched its review of remuneration systems operating in retail banking.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) says it is part of a vital overhaul.

“Banking is an essential service for those who seek to fully engage economically and socially with Australian communities,” the union said in a statement this week.

“High levels of trust and confidence are essential if the banking and financial system is to fulfil its role. In recent times that trust and confidence has been seriously undermined by a series of scandals and apparent systemic failures.”

The FSU has made a submission to the review to illustrate the impact that integrated remuneration and work systems have on the functionality of Australian banking and financial services.

“Workers in the industry regularly report chronic understaffing and intense pressure to achieve high performance targets as characteristic of a management approach that seems ignorant of the human costs of satisfying the demands of market analysts rather than the needs of customers,” the union said.

The FSU’s approach draws on the experiences of workers in the industry, as opposed to an approach dominated by statistical modelling, which it says will provide a unique and genuine perspective.

“That perspective will be based on the practicality of employees trying to make the system work on a daily basis.

“It is a perspective that cannot be found within a matrix of self-serving customer satisfaction ratings, carefully worded policies that may never be properly implemented or an approach that demonises individual workers in order to avoid scrutiny of systemic flaws,” the FSU said.

The submission is available in PDF form, here.