Pay 2018 Campaign Archive

The Pay 2018 campaign was fought at a unique time for NatWest Group. Then known as RBS Group, the bank had been left on the brink of collapse in the fallout of the 2008 global financial crisis. In the years that followed, the organisation reported astronomical losses well into the billions of pounds. The organisation had been bailed out by the UK government in the immediate aftermath of the crisis and the tax payer remained the majority owner and shareholder.

Negotiations were undertaken in late 2017. Annual accounts published in 2018 would record the Group’s first annual profit since 2008 and the following year they would make their first dividend payment to shareholders since the crisis. At this time the profits were low and the bank’s stated focus remained on managing costs. The narrative which would be repeated in following years was that with government ownership, financial restraint was the order of the day. A similar regular talking point was that shareholders had been patient for years and needed to be rewarded before workers were.

The links below show the key newsletters issued during the campaign for Pay 2018:

Pay 2018 newsletters

  • Pay 2018: Pay Claim

    NatWest Group, then known as RBS Group, was severely impacted by the 2008 global financial crisis. Between 2008 and 2016, the bank reported substantial losses including a high of £24.1 billion in 2008. As a direct result of this, pay stagnated, as it often does in loss-making companies. In attempts to save the company, RBS…

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  • Pay 2018: Removal of bonus for appointed staff

    Following the 2008 financial crash, NatWest Group (then known as RBS Group) pursued a programme of savage cuts and cost-saving exercises. Many long-standing terms and conditions were removed. By 2017, Clerical staff (now known as A grade) had had their variable pay (usually known as bonus to workers) removed and incorporated into fixed pay. Immediately…

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  • Pay 2018: Negotiations update

    As negotiations towards a solution for Pay 2018 progressed, the Unite team shared an update with members. You’ll notice that the figures in the Unite pay claim are extremely modest. This is an indicator of how low pay was in previous years and also takes into account that the business had been reporting monumentally large…

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  • Pay 2018: The ballot

    The Pay 2018 negotiations concluded with an offer being put to members. While there were some high numbers in the matrices, the bank’s performance related pay approach utilised a bell curve which ensured that only very few workers received the highest ratings and therefore the higher pay rises. Additionally, we know from subsequent data requests,…

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  • Pay 2018: Offer accepted

    As with all pay offers, Unite members had the final say. The results show that there was widespread dissatisfaction with the bank’s final offer with over a third of voters rejecting the offer. This newsletter was first published in February 2018. Pay 2018: Members back new deal In an on-line survey, Unite members have voted…

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