Carney under fire as Bank goes on strike
Staff to walk out over ‘shameful’ pay
FURIOUS staff have rounded on Bank of England governor Mark Carney as they prepare for their first strike in more than 50 years.
Workers are incensed by a 1pc pay rise offer which would only be handed out at managers’ discretion, and they describe it as a ‘disgraceful’ indication of how little the Bank values its employees.
Staff in the maintenance, security and parlours divisions have voted for a four-day strike starting on July 31, with 95pc of ballots cast in favour of industrial action.
Unite officer Mercedes Sanchez said: ‘Mark Carney needs to get his own house in order. It is nothing short of shameful that the iconic symbol of financial services in the UK is choosing to ride roughshod over the concerns of its dedicated and hard-working staff and impose this derisory pay deal.
‘The governor can no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening on his own patch.’
The strike comes amid mounting criticism of the Bank’s failure to keep inflation in check, contributing to a squeeze on living standards as wages fail to keep up with price rises. Inflation is running at 2.9pc, while pay packets are growing at just 2.1pc.
One way of curbing the surge in costs would be to put up interest rates, which Carney and fellow Bank economists slashed to an all-time low of 0.25pc in the wake of the Brexit vote. Carney has so far been reluctant to act, but last week hinted that a hike could be on the cards if wages increase and businesses start investing more. Unite warned that the 80 employees set to strike could bring the Bank to a stand-still by refusing to work.
They include waiting staff in the parlours, the grand offices at the Old Lady’s Threadneedle Street headquarters where bosses sit.
‘The Bank’s sites – including the iconic Threadneedle Street building in the City of London – will effectively be inoperable without the maintenance, parlours and security staff,’ Sanchez said.
Unite has previously said many of those balloted on strike action are paid less than £20,000. By contrast, Carney takes home £880,000 a year – although he has not had a pay rise since he started the job in 2013 after being poached from his native Canada.
He was pictured playing street hockey with a team of Canadian ‘all- stars’ on Saturday to mark the 150th anniversary of his country’s founding, looking unconcerned by the looming confrontation with staff.
Last year Carney, who was an ice hockey goalkeeper at university, was photographed at a music festival laughing and wearing a glitter tattoo, days after the Bank slashed interest rates. The Bank said Unite had balloted about 2pc of its workforce.
‘Should the strike go ahead, the Bank has plans in place so that all sites can continue to operate effectively,’ a spokesman said.
THE pound has fallen for the first time in nine days – dropping back below $1.30 – amid signs of a slowdown in UK manufacturing.
Research group IHS Markit said its index of activity in UK factories, where scores above 50 show growth, dipped from 56.3 in May to a weaker than expected 54.3 in June.
However, the overall performance for the second quarter of 2017 was the best for three years.