Bank attacked by union over pay deals

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) bosses came under fire today over pay deals offered to sections of its workforce following record pre-tax profits.

Members of the Unifi financial services union protested outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre this lunchtime as shareholders made their way in to attend the bank’s annual general meeting.

The union had rejected the company’s final offer on pay, which they claim consigned 25,000 staff to rises below the current rate of increase in the cost of living.

But in the meeting, the bank’s chairman hit back, saying their pay awards were “significantly above inflation” overall and better than those offered by their competitors.

RBS recently announced a pre-tax profit increase of 11% to £7.1bn (€10.6bn) in 2003.