STABLE & RESILIENT

 45 YEARS OF SERVICE TO OUR MEMBERS & THE FINANCE INDUSTRY

The Malta Union of Bank Employees – MUBE is today Monday 22^nd May 2017 45 years old.

Through thick and thin, through one crisis after another, through changes in political scenarios, MUBE has managed to stay strong and continues to be stable and professional as much as possible. Resilience and protection of its autonomous status have been the key and the forte of our Bankers’ Union and the members it represents – the Banker and those who work in Insurance and in other Financial Institutions.

Strong leadership has been instrumental over the years as MUBE remained autonomous, solid, reliable and consistent throughout.

 The Malta Union of Bank Employees wishes to thank the Founders and all those who in the past and present have in some way or another shown loyalty and their solidarity throughout the 45 years of continuous service. It is this very faith and support that will allow MUBE to continue to insist on Respect of PEOPLE FIRST whilst helping us to face any challenge that we may come across. Collective Bargaining, Flexibility and Wellbeing are three main challenges that MUBE will be focusing upon in the new Digital era of the Banking, Finance and Insurance Industry.

The MUBE has always been a prime mover of innovative practices will remain synonymous with the introduction of flexible working conditions in favour of working parents in the local labour market. Furthermore, negotiations of well-balanced sustainable agreements with the employers have also been an achievement to be reckoned with.

With the members’ loyal support, MUBE seeks to renew and looks forward to the future by building on what has already been successfully achieved.

 Credit to our members.

William Portelli                                                                            MUBE COUNCIL

President  

22nd May 2017

Head of UNI Equal Opportunities Veronica Fernandez-Mendes said, “We are going to have women at the heart of change – by growing unions, bargaining power and quality jobs for a better society!”

UNI Europa Regional Secretary Oliver Roethig added, “The future of work needs a high-skilled workforce, and we need both men and women working together to achieve a fairer society.”

Read about all the topics and discussions here
Check out the photos of the day on Flickr – or the interviews we did with participants
Read the discussions on social media

Finance for the Future – Making Finance Work for People

MUBE officials will be attending the biannual UNI Europa Finance Conference which will take place in Athens, Greece this month.

The conference will discuss the themeFinance for the Future – Making Finance Work for People

The Finance industry has faced a difficult situation and the current consensus is on the need for change.  Regulators call for an effective and comprehensive regulation system.  Bankers discuss alternatives to restore the image of banks that has been severely affected by the crisis and society calls for a new strong model, supporting development, real economy, job creation and making the Finance industry a real instrument for all citizens.

The trade union movement has an important role to play in this context.  The concerns raised by UNI Finance during the conference in Lisbon in 2011 are reality now.  Even regulators, bankers and society have adopted proposals that were until then only raised by the trade union movement.  It is time now to re-evaluate the path and to discuss what still needs to be done to ensure a Finance industry for the future that works for people.

http://www.uniglobalunion.org/news/making-finance-work-people-uni-europa-finance-conference

The position paper deals in a comprehensive and understandable way with MiFID 2, the EU’s revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.

UNI Europa Finance and its affiliates have been focusing on the Directive’s revision as well, stating clearly that employees in the financial industry must – especially after the experience of the financial crisis – be protected from sales pressure. Finance employees must be empowered through adequate and sufficient training to give proper advice to customers. MiFID 2 offers an opportunity to lay these trade union principles down in European legislation.

The position paper “Investing not betting” calls on the EU to maintain a tough stance on:

• high frequency trading, which damages traditional investors’ trust in markets, drains useful liquidity and increases the potential for market abuse;
• commodity derivatives speculation, which inflates commodity prices and degrades the futures markets for genuine hedgers;
• over-the-counter and dark trading, whose growth (partly as a refuge from HFT) damages price formation and market fairness; and
• investor and employee protection, which are undermined by inducements and adverse sales incentives.

It also calls for the EU to drop the proposed “OTF” trading venue category, which risks opening the door to regulatory arbitrage.

The paper’s author, Benoît Lallemand, said: ”Financial markets play an essential role in supporting our economy. We welcome the MiFID 2 proposals for increased transparency and supervisory powers and for measures to discourage harmful trading practices. After the European Parliament’s current work, the spotlight will shift to the Council to take these proposals forward.”

In a series of detailed case studies, “Investing not betting” exposes the practices behind high frequency trading, commodity index investing and dark trading, to explain how these practices are detrimental to the functioning of financial markets and their contribution to the real economy. It debunks a number of commonly held beliefs, arguing that:

(i) trading venue competition has not benefitted the economy,
(ii) HFT does not create liquidity,
(iii) commodity index funds are not investment products and
(iv) disclosure of sales incentives is not enough to resolve conflicts of interest.

It presents recent academic research linking commodity speculation to food riots and social unrest around the world, demonstrating the impact of HFT on commodity derivatives and equity market correlations, looking at the history of stock exchange demutualization, and at the effectiveness of financial markets over time.

Thierry Philipponnat, Secretary General of Finance Watch, said: “We forgot that the primary objective of financial markets is to channel savings and capital to the most promising economic developments. Deregulation of equity, bonds and derivatives markets has undermined this goal and we now face an urgent need to re-direct capital from short-term, speculative use to long-term investment in the productive economy. For some participants, this shift is going to hurt but it is a challenge society needs to face.”

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Source: http://www.uniglobalunion.org