Formas de analizar los instrumentos de comunicación

The National Westminster Bank was formed from the merger between National

Provincial Bank, its subsidiary District Bank, and the Westminster Bank. The

process o f integration, which was intended, inter alia, to create opportunities to

streamline the branch network and enable greater investment in new technology,

was completed with the passing o f the National W estminster Bank Act 1969. In a

major reorganisation in 1989 the Domestic Banking Division, which

encompassed both domestic and corporate banking, was reorganised and renamed

UK Branch Business. In a further reorganisation in 1995, the retail banking

business was separated from corporate banking. Renamed Retail Banking

Services (RBS), it is now one o f five businesses operating under NatWest UK,

which in turn is one o f the six main business sectors of the NatWest Group

(Maccoll, 1996).

In the year ended December 1998 NatWest UK contributed £1,058 million

(£744m. net) towards the Group profit o f £2,142 million (£l,559m. net), some

fifty per cent o f profits. For NatWest UK the 1998 results represent an increase

o f just over four per cent in gross profit (one per cent net) over 1997. The

cost:income ratio, which in 1997 was 67 per cent increased during the year to

68.2 per cent.

As shown in Table 4 .1, the Retail Banking Services business has been operated

through an extensive branch network o f some 1,754 (1997) (1,727, 1998) outlets

and this is organised into a regional structure. Market share in personal accounts

has been declining, and with some six million customers currently stands at 16

per cent o f the market As business has fallen away from the branches alternative

banking access has been developed. Primeline telephone banking has built a

client base o f some 4 million customers who have access to 24-hour telephony.

Half o f the calls using this service are dealt with by Automated Voice Response,

which is a low cost means o f servicing customers. There is a network o f some

3,400 ATMs, 1,110 o f which are based in non-branch locations and these handle

some 80 per cent o f cash withdrawals. More recently the Bank has moved into

PC Banking with the development o f NatWest Online. As branch based business

has declined the Bank has introduced personalised services via an Individual

Banking Service, which gives customers visiting their branch access to a Personal

Bank Manager.

In so far as employment relations are concerned, the NatWest Group has a Job

Security Agreement, (JSA), known as Appendix 15. Originally negotiated with

the NatWest Staff Association (NWS A), the agreement has its origins in the 1968

merger, and provides that the Bank will ensure:

“... by the proper use o f Staff planning, control o f recruitment, retraining,

redeployment, voluntary severance and flexible working that any adverse

impact o f (the introduction o f new procedures and new technology. Staff

numbers, working methods or a significant change in job content) may be

minimised and redundancies are kept to a minimum.”

Under the heading o f Voluntary Early Retirement'Redundancy, Appendix 15

contains a statement o f intention to consider volunteers in the event o f a staff

surplus.

In addition, there is a Group wide agreement, Appendix 14, which sets out the

structure o f ex-gratia payments applicable in the event o f a redundancy. Under

this, employees from age 50 to 60, which is the normal retirement age, are

entitled to receive an immediate retirement pension should they be affected by

redundancy.

Retention, as opposed to selection, in the event o f a redundancy is stated as being

according to a matrix approach in that:

“In determining which members o f Staff should be retained in the light o f

the Bank’s current and future business needs, a combination of, or all o f the

following factors will be used: Performance, Skills, Versatility, Service;

Disciplinary Records” .

Both Appendix 14 and 15 were revised in June 1995, and it is understood that at

the time o f the empirical research extensive revision o f the JSA (Appendix 15)

was being undertaken.

The Group operates a number o f pension schemes, the major ones, which cover

96 per cent o f Group employees, are defined benefit schemes. The most recent

valuation o f the major UK scheme (31 March 1998), National Westminster Bank

Pension Fund, shows an asset value o f £9,501 million, sufficient to cover 118 per

cent o f future benefits. As a result o f this, and in the light o f the requirement

contained in the Finance Act 1986 to reduce surpluses to 105 per cent, the Bank

took a partial contributions holiday, reducing its contributions from £111 million

(1996), £75 million (1997) to £27 million (1998) (NatWest Group Annual Report

and Accounts, 1998). The use o f surpluses has been uncontroversial and this is

attributed to the fact that the schemes are non-contributory and are not within the

negotiating remit o f the unions

Following the merger o f NatWest Staff Association with B1FU and UniFI, Retail

Banking Services recognises UNIFI for negotiation purposes, although at the

time o f the negotiations for the reorganisations studied, negotiations were carried

out with BIFU and NWSA.