Gordon Gekko is alive and well, as many families shiver in payday Britain
The number of British bankers raking it in has risen by 11 per cent in the last year, while many families make the heartbreaking decision 'to heat or eat' this Christmas.
Unite said that European Banking Authority (EBA) figures showing that the number of high earners in British banks rose 11 per cent last year, with more than 2,700 people earning above €1m (£833,000), makes the case for an EU cap on banking bonuses 'a matter of priority'.
Unite, the country's largest union, said that City bankers had no shame as they were the European leaders for over inflated pay packages.
Unite national officer for finance Dominic Hook said:
“Gordon Gekko is alive and well and living in the City of London – yet we have created a society where many families will have to make the heart rending decision 'to heat or eat' over the festive season and the number of food banks stand at a record level.
“We need action on over inflated remuneration packages for the elite group of bankers, which as recent history proves, are often not justified.
“Unite represents thousands of bank workers who earn, in many cases as little as £17,000 - £20,000 a year. They have borne the fall-out from the banking crisis, which they did not cause, with massive job cuts and constant reorganisations which have reduced services to high street customers.
“Independent research for Unite has showed that people are borrowing £660-a-month compared to £328 in September 2012 – just to make ends meet.”
Gordon Gekko is the character, played in an Oscar winning performance by Michael Douglas, in the 1987 film Wall Street.
The independent survey conducted by Mass1 of 4,087 Unite members in August showed people are borrowing £660 a month. The figure has more than trebled from the £200 being borrowed in March 2012.
