Alliance & Leicester win pay from Santander

CWU banking union members at Alliance & Leicester have voted overwhelmingly to accept a 20-month pay deal from Santander, the Spanish parent bank that also owns Abbey and Bradford & Bingley.

Staff at the former building society will get increases of up to 3.75%, with the majority receiving 2.3% in two tranches: one now, the second in March 2010. There is an underpin of £0-250 for 2009 (£200 for average performers) and a further underpin of £0-275 (£225 for average performers) in March 2010. All allowances will go up by 1% this July, except on-call and call-out payments, which go up by 1.25% Pay scales and pay progression arrangements are also being improved.

The deal moves the pay date to 1 March to bring staff into line with other Santander pay negotiations. The deal is being seen as a positive one by the union. “The offer has been secured in the exceptional circumstances of a recession, in the wake of the £1.3 billion loss by the Bank in 2008,” said Nigel Cotgrove, CWU assistant secretary .