Welcome from Ged
Welcome to the latest edition of our online magazine for members.
This edition kicks off the vibrant democracy that is at the heart of Accord and makes the union tick.
Workplace reps in Lloyds Banking Group are to be elected in September. Our rep structure allows us to be connected, accessible and accountable to members everywhere.
The processes will then be put in place for the election of the President and Principal Executive Council members whose term of office will run from the end of the biennial delegate conference in April 2024 in Glasgow through to our 2026 conference.
The current President, Neil Magill, ends his term of office in April and, under Accord’s Rules, can’t stand again for this position. So, we’ll have a new President for the new term. Whoever it is will have a class act to follow but there’s plenty for Neil to do before he leaves office so we’ll say more about him later.
The biennial delegate conference next April is the key event in the union’s calendar. It provides an opportunity for members, through their elected delegates, to review the union’s performance in the preceding two years and set our objectives for the next two. It’s the pinnacle of our democratic accountability and we hope you’ll take a keen interest whether you’re able to attend or not.
These internalities keep our union open, democratic and vibrant. How we do our business is important but let’s turn to what we need to do. Of course, the key challenge is to support members through the ongoing squeeze in living standards due to continuing high inflation and the impact of higher interest rates on mortgages and rents.
The Bank of England has increased interest rates to a 15 year high in an attempt to tackle inflation. This will have a positive influence on the performance of UK banks with significant ‘unearned’ increases in profits.
There’s a long gap between the salary increases that took place in LBG and TSB in April 2023 and the next review in April 2024. The final parts of the 2023 pay agreement between Accord & Unite and Lloyds Banking Group were implemented in July; the consolidation of the Flex Allowance for all staff and part of the GPS opportunity for staff in grades D and above into base pay as well as the increases in the pay ranges from 1 July.
We’ve published our pay claim in LBG and asked TSB for early talks too.
It’s not going to be easy and employers will undoubtedly be under political pressure to exercise pay restraint so as not to undermine the Bank of England’s policy. But wages didn’t create inflation and it’s not right that ordinary workers should have their living standards squeezed as a consequence.
So, we have a lot to do as the autumn approaches but you can play a huge part by encouraging any of your colleagues who aren’t currently members of Accord or Unite to join us.
There’s lots of important things for us to do as the world of work continues to change and we’ll be better placed to meet those challenges if we have the voices of more members with us.
So, thanks for being a member of Accord but please think about what else you can do to help strengthen your union.
Enjoy the magazine and what’s left of the summer …
Very best wishes
Ged