Pay 2023: Cost of living October update

Pay 2023 Campaign Archive

By October 2022, while preparing for pay negotiations for Pay 2023, we were still advocating for NatWest to award a fair pay rise to the workers they had chosen to leave behind. This newsletter gave an update on a collective grievance we launched calling on NatWest to do the right thing.

This original newsletter from October 2022 is shown below with the full text following.

Unite at NatWest October update

Hundreds of NatWest workers have supported a collective grievance calling on the bank to do the right thing and give a cost of living pay rise to ALL grade A-C workers. The support shown to the Unite campaign has been amazing and we will, of course, keep everyone updated on the progress of this grievance.

Despite soaring profits seeing NatWest make a profit in excess of £4 Billion last year and a further £2.8 Billion in the first 6 months of this year, the bank’s ExCo has made the decision not to give all workers a cost of living pay rise. They can afford to make a real difference to the lives of their workers but have chosen not to do so.

Since the pandemic, the FTSE top 350 have seen profits soar by 43 per cent. Britain has a profiteering crisis – when is something going to be done about that?

~Sharon Graham, Unite General Secretary

Sharon Graham, Unite the Union General Secretary, has gone on record calling out the top FTSE 350 companies who have seen their profits rise post COVID. As you will have seen on the news, Unite the Union is actively supporting its members across the UK in getting pay rises in line with the cost of living.

Your Unite the Union pay team will shortly be entering into talks with the bank about your pay reward for 2023. Given the massive profits NatWest have made over the past 18 months – you know they can afford to pay all workers a pay rise in line with inflation, we know it and they know it.

The question is will NatWest do the right thing?

What next?

As your Unite team get ready to meet with the bank to discuss pay for 2023, we are very aware that this is a topic that not only affects thousands of Unite members but also those who have not yet joined your union. We need to make sure that our updates get to as many workers as possible. If you can help us to share noticeboards like this one to your colleagues then let us know!

Not a member? Got a problem at work? Email rbsinfo@unitetheunion.org.

Further reading