Received from: Aegis
Congress notes that financial services remain one of the United Kingdom’s most important industries, employing over one million workers, generating substantial wealth for the UK economy.
The sector is experiencing unprecedented transformation through Artificial Intelligence, automation, digitalisation and regulatory change.
Congress further notes that workers continue to drive productivity, innovation and profitability while many face restructuring, increasing workloads, wage restraint and job insecurity. Women workers remain disproportionately represented in many customer service, operational and entry-level roles within the sector, while caring responsibilities continue to fall disproportionately upon them, affecting career progression and access to opportunity. Technological change must not deepen these inequalities.
Congress is concerned that, while executive remuneration and bonus payments have continued to rise across the sector, the wealth created by workers is increasingly concentrated amongst a small number of senior executives and shareholders.
Congress believes that the future success of financial services depends upon investing in its workforce and ensuring that the prosperity workers create is shared more fairly. Economic growth should strengthen workers, communities and public services – not simply reward those at the very top.
Congress therefore calls on the General Council to campaign for a national strategy for the future of financial services; promote partnership between government, employers and trade unions; support stronger collective bargaining and fair profit-sharing; lobby for action to tackle excessive executive remuneration and bonus inequality; and promote reforms that encourage greater investment in workforce pay, skills, equality and public services through a fairer distribution of the wealth generated by the sector.
Aegis