STAFF at Lloyds TSB branches in Suffolk are set to take part in union ballots which could see industrial action over a pay dispute.The Lloyds TSB Group Union (LTU) has issued ballot papers to managers and staff at branches in Ipswich and other parts of Suffolk and warned that any resulting action would be designed to have a maximum impact on the bank.
STAFF at Lloyds TSB branches in Suffolk are set to take part in union ballots which could see industrial action over a pay dispute.
The Lloyds TSB Group Union (LTU) has issued ballot papers to managers and staff at branches in Ipswich and other parts of Suffolk and warned that any resulting action would be designed to have a maximum impact on the bank.
Steve Tatlow, LTU assistant general secretary, said: "Lloyds TSB has left staff with no option but to vote on taking industrial action.
"We don't take the prospect of industrial action lightly but staff have now reached the point where, quite simply, enough is enough.
"Morale is at rock-bottom. Staff are over-worked, over-pressurised and under-paid."
The union says that there are about 200 Lloyds TSB employees in Ipswich and it says, like their counterparts throughout the eastern region, their pay offers are unsatisfactory.
It claims new staff working in the east of England can be paid as little as £10, 779 while fully experienced staff can be paid just £11,378.
However the bank says that only a small percentage of its workforce voted to hold the ballot and insisted that claims that more than 9,000 staff would receive no pay rise this year were incorrect.
A Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said: "In reality that applies to no more than a few hundred out of a total of 80,000. It is very much performance related."
Rather than threatening one-day strike action the LTU says if staff vote in favour of industrial action it could enforce an overtime ban.
The Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said the bank would do everything it could in the event of industrial action to maintain existing services to customers.
She said: "It is too early to speculate on the outcome of the ballot."
n. What do you think? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here