RBTT to close St. Kitts Branch within five months
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FIFTEEN employees of the Royal Bank of Canada (St. Kitts) will soon join the breadline as that financial institution claims to be experiencing economic challenges in several Branches within a number of Eastern Caribbean countries.
Speaking with this publication, a number of the banks employees claimed that victimisation exists in the financial institution; in that locals are being made redundant and replaced by individuals either from Barbados or Trinidad, to whom higher salaries are paid.
“The bank has been meeting with the staff in town hall meetings and indicating that they are doing some structural changes in which they are trying to cut costs and to ensure that the business continues. And in so doing they would be making some staff redundant,” an employee said.
The employee also noted that at the second to last meeting, management indicated that they had already informed the Labour Department that “they would be letting off 15 staff. This is in keeping with Labour Laws because the staff to be made redundant is more than 15 percent of the 52 employees”.
Comparing the current system with that of the past when the services of staff members are no longer required, the employees said: “In previous times when a job became redundant because the bank no longer provides that service and they no longer require the person who works within that department, they would give that person a 90-day notice.
“It means then that the person would have a chance to apply for another job because they normally post the vacancies there internally. And even if it were a position below the level of the one made redundant, that person could apply for it and get it. And on successful acquisition of the job, even if the salary is below that of the previous job, that person would continue to receive the same amount they would have been getting or they could take their redundancy package and leave.
“Now, instead of treating the staff with dignity and respect, they just show up, call you in for a meeting and give you a letter indicating you have been made redundant with immediate effect.”
Expressing her views on the decision taken by management, the employee highlighted, what she termed, “important factors”.
“Firstly, the thing is that the job the individual was doing is still required and management is replacing that person with someone from Barbados or Trinidad. Secondly, if you are trying to cut costs why are you sending home a staff from St. Kitts and you still have to pay someone from either of those countries? Their salary scale is higher than ours, and we know that because all salary scales are posted on the RBC website. You can go on HR site and you will see them. They have for the whole Caribbean…from The Bahamas right down to Trinidad! And they are listed by countries and levels. Therefore, we know what the salary scale is in all the islands.
“Thirdly, they say that they want to cut costs. If you want to cut costs, why is it that you are getting rid of one local member of staff who you are paying $20 000 and replacing them with another who you are paying $35 000 to do the same job in St. Kitts? That doesn’t make sense to me!”
“And then you are making all the money in St. Kitts! You are making money from the people in St. Kitts who are saving their money which you are investing and making higher interests than what you are paying them. Then you have the people in St. Kitts borrowing money from you and they are paying you back the loans with interest. They have their credit cards and coming in to you to get the services and you are also making the money out of St. Kitts. And when you have finished making all that money out of St. Kitts you don’t think that a staff from St. Kitts is good enough to get a salary, so you are giving it to a staff member from another country.
“In essence, to me, it’s like they are building up another country’s economy because the money is being made here but is paid in either Barbados or Trinidad.”
The employee further said that the RBC had made US$21M for the first quarter of the year in the Caribbean and C$2.1 in Canada for the same period, which is seven percent of last year’s earnings.
“If you are making US$21 million in the Caribbean in the first quarter, how many millions do you want to make when you say that the economy is bad?” she added.
In an effort to ascertain the employees’ allegations, SKNVibes on Monday (Mar. 31) contacted Mr. Joseph Charles, RBC’s Manager, Corporate Communications and Brand Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, and was told to forward the following questions:
1. Some employees said that the financial institution would soon be making about 15 of them redundant. Is there any truth in it?
2. If yes, then what is the reason for them being made redundant?
3. How many people are employed at the institution?
4. Some employees are of the view that locals are made redundant and replaced by non-nationals. Is this a false allegation?
5. Some employees opined that in the recent past some employees were made redundant but the office in which they worked or service they provided is still functioning. What truth lies in this?
6. According to the Labour Laws, whenever an entity intends to layoff a certain percentage of its employees, the Labour Department must be consulted for advice. Did the bank follow this procedure?
In response, via email on Wednesday (Apr. 2), Charles said: “I am reviewing the below sent email and will respond accordingly.”
This was followed on Saturday (Apr. 5) by the writer stating: “I received your email, but I'm a bit puzzled by your response. I did not send an opinion piece...they were questions. However, I have started writing the article and it now only needs the answers to those questions. Can you definitely say when they will be provided?”
Consequently, on Monday (Apr. 7) the Communications Manager responded with the following statement: “Several Eastern Caribbean countries continue to experience economic challenges and there is restructuring occurring across several institutions. As a responsible company we have taken a comprehensive review of our businesses across the Eastern Caribbean to ensure that any changes made will result in a sustainable and competitive franchise for the future. We continue to explore and pursue a number of areas to reduce cost and strengthen our business for the long term. We are also taking the necessary steps to ensure that any impacted employee will be treated with dignity and respect during this process. RBC has a distinguished heritage in the Caribbean and remains committed to this region.”
However, yesterday (Apr. 16), he contacted this publication and informed that the bank would be issuing a press release, which was received this morning by email.
The release, headlined “RBTT TO RESTRUCTURE ITS BRANCH NETWORK”, categorically stated that the Basseterre Branch would be closed within the a few months.
“As part of the ongoing efforts to streamline the operations in St. Kitts & Nevis and deliver an improved banking service to customers, RBTT Bank today announced that a restructure the branch network across the island.
“This restructure will see the closure of our RBTT Basseterre branch and this will take place within the next three to five months,” the release reads.
The release quotes RBC/RBTT Managing Director Isaac Solomon as saying: “We have been looking closely at our operations across the Eastern Caribbean, for some time with a view to ensuring that we are design a more efficient business, one that is more sustainable and that effectively serves our clients.
“The economies of the Eastern Caribbean continue to face tough challenges and RBC/RBTT as a committed partner to the region, must be flexible and nimble in its response to the external environment, while continuing to be responsive to our clients’ needs.”
It noted that RBC would continue to work with its clients, employees and other key stakeholders to ensure that the consolidations are seamless, with minimal disruption to the clients and the delivery of service to them.
“Over the next few months, the Bank will communicate to all clients who are affected by the changes to ensure that they understand what is taking place and what they may be required to do,” the release added.
It continued: “With regard to employees, the Bank has already communicated the planned initiatives and changes to the affected employees and will continue to support them during this period of transformation. RBC/RBTT will honour all existing contractual terms and conditions and will ensure that our employees are aware of the progress being made during this period of change.
“RBC remains committed to the people and community of St. Kitts and Nevis and will continue to work to ensure that we deliver the excellent service that our clients deserve. Our clients are our number #1 priority and we will work to ensure that throughout this process our clients continue to receive best-in-class service.”
To date, apart from disclosing the closure of the RBTT Basseterre Branch, no answer was given to the questions asked of the Communications Manager, especially that of the 15 members of staff earmarked for redundancy.
