UNI Global Union welcomes Barclays commitment to a living wage in the UK, but urges the multinational to go further and globalize the principle of the living wage across its global business.
Barclays must take care to avoid double standards on wages after implementing the Living Wage in the UK whilst not doing likewise elsewhere in the world, a new report warns.
The report by UNI Finance - the global union for the finance and insurance sectors - comes as shareholders gather in London today for the Barclays AGM.
Some key findings from Barclays: Workers Rights and Social Responsibility include:
It would take a bank teller in Tanzania more than 2300 years to earn the same amount as the Barclays global CEO makes in one year when paid the starting wage of USD $298 per month.
In Zimbabwe, a bank teller would need to work for 1136 years to match the Barclays global CEO's annual income when earning the starting salary of 600 dollars per month.
UNI Finance is part of UNI Global Union which represents 20 million service sector workers worldwide.
UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings said:
"Let's be clear Barclays has done the right thing in the UK by committing to a living wage. What we're urging now is that Barclays takes the next step and broadens the principle of a living wage to all its global staff. Our local unions are ready to work with Barclays to implement this.
"UNI would welcome talks with Barclays on how such a ground-breaking globalized living wage could be applied. Our door is always open to constructive discussions with Barclays on decent work and fair pay."
In 2013 Barclays was accredited as a UK Living Wage employer, which recognised the Bank's commitment to ensure that "all its employees and those employees of third party contractors who provide services to us at our sites, are paid at least the current London or UK Living Wage." It has also extended this commitment to its UK apprentices.
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