Mar 2015 Financial News

First Citizens seeks to settle wage negotiations

Mar 06, 2015

First Citizens executive chairman Anthony Smart has assured workers that the bank’s management and board are seeking to resolve ongoing wage negotiations.

“All is not lost this time,” Smart said as he addressed about 160 shareholders and employees during the State bank’s 18th annual meeting at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s, yesterday.

“The bank is still in negotiations with the union and as a matter of fact has got to the point where the matter is now before the Industrial Court, seeking to resolve the outstanding matters. I want to assure shareholders and members of staff at the bank that in spite of the fact that the matter is before the Industrial Court we the management and the board are continuning to explore ways and see whether we can settle this matter and take it out of the Industrial Court.

The union representing the workers, the Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU) has been negotiating for wage increases for the period January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014.

It is seeking no less than a 14 per cent increase and have asked for salaries to first be brought up to market standards before this is done.

BIGWU president Mario Als told the Express yesterday the matter comes up for hearing on April 14, 15 and 16.

On the issue of the First Citizens’ initial public offering (IPO) last year, Smart said although the events surrounding it cast a negative shadow on the bank, the IPO must not be forgotten.

“Today there are over 11,700 shareholders with thousands of those persons-first time investors in the stock market- including some of you who are here with us today,” he said.

Smart told shareholders that sound corporate governance continued to be one of the pillars on which the bank’s business was run.

He said the bank was constantly looking at ways to enhance its governance procedures because it believes this is critical to First Citizens’ continuing success.

The bank’s former chief risk officer Philip Rahaman bought 659,588 shares from the employee bucket during the IPO and later sold 634,588 of those shares four months later to his cousin Imtiaz Rahaman, his aunt and five family-controlled businesses.

The share purchase raised questions and the financing of the transaction is under investigation.

The IPO scandal has had several casualties: Rahaman; Subhas Ramkhelawan, managing director of Bourse Securities, who resigned as an independent senator and former chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange; and the former First Citizens board.

In December last year, former chief executive Larry Nath resigned with immediate effect not long after the IPO.

Source:
By Leah Sorias
Trinidad Express
Friday March 6, 2015

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business/First-Citizens-seeks-to-settle-wage-negotiations-295259731.html