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Workers protest at City 'fat cats'
Benedict Moore-Bridger28 Oct 2008
LOW-PAID finance workers today protested outside Parliament against City bankers who they blame for the credit crunch.
Staff from all over the UK waved placards before a meeting with MPs to press for reforms of the finance sector.
Led by the union Unite, they called for jobs and pensions to be protected as well as tackling the "unfair" bonus culture of City bankers.
Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said more than 40,000 workers could lose their job as a result of the "reckless" behaviour of some London bankers.
He said: "The bonus culture drove people to take risks and that has caused this difficulty. We would like to see that stopped."
He said workers feared that banks would now be cutting back, with low-level staff the first to go.
"Workers in the financial services industry are not the culprits of the credit crunch and we are not prepared to allow them to become the victims. Banks should not be offshoring jobs that may be needed by British workers," he said.
Protester Sophie Marceaux, a 24-year-old claims handler from Peterborough for Royal & Sun Alliance, said she had been forced to get a second job working in a pub to supplement her £18,000 a year salary.
"It is really tough," she said. "I feel really angry when I see these people making millions of pounds."
Heather Smith, 21, also from Peterborough, said she could not afford food on her £15,500 a year salary as a customer service agent with the RSA.
She said: "I'm moving back in with my parents as I just don't have enough money."
Demonstrators launched a "social contract" which outlined principles to reform the finance sector, including an enhanced accountability of finance institutions.
