Click here to read the latest Unite in AXA newsletter on the use of social media in AXA.

Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.

Today’s announcement that Personal Lines Intermediary will transfer into Amanda Blanc’s business area will come as no surprise given press speculation to this end and the fact that it makes a lot of sense for intermediaries to be dealing with one part of the business not two.

AXA has entered consultation with Unite over the transfer and we are pleased to note that they do not anticipate any significant impact as a result of the switch, indeed many staff will notice little, if any difference, in their day to day activity.

 We have flagged a number of issues which we would like to discuss further with the company, such as the impact on the Commercial combined operating ratio of the inclusion of the Personal Lines Intermediary business and its potential impact on the Commercial bonus multiplier. We have also asked what impact the split will have on Direct & Corporate Partners COR and their bonus going forward.

If you have any questions or concerns arising out of today’s announcement, please speak to your local Unite rep so we can ensure they are addressed at a national level.

AXA Group President Henri de Castries was challenged over the alleged sacking of several workers at AXA‘s offshore centre in Morocco for being union members by French EWC delegates.

De Castries responded that he had been advised that the workers in question were members of an illegal trade union and had resigned not been dismissed. However, due to the difference between the information received from Morocco he agreed that he would investigate the allegations and respond at the September EWC Bureau meeting.

Friends of the Earth Europe have produced a report called ‘Farming Money – How European Banks and private finance profit from food speculation and land grabs’. The report (which can be read here) contains details on role of AXA as well as the four largest UK banking groups.

AXA’s European Works Council is meeting in Rome with delegates attending from Belgium,  France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Group CEO Henri de Castries addressed the employee representatives, explaining his vision for development of the group with much emphasis on technological evolution, especially the need to embrace the opportunities of the internet. He feels that the most technologically developed entities are the most successful and the challenge is to get traditional entities up to speed (or as he put it “the elephants need to run at the same speed as the antelopes”).

AXA Wealth have announced the loss of 74 roles in the CYFAS area of Bancassurance with 62 Financial Planning Managers losing their jobs.

These redundancies have come about due to productivity and cost issues in the Bancassurance market. Unite in AXA have been fully consulted about the changes to the business and would direct any member impacted to speak to their local union rep about any concerns they may have.

Three members have volunteered to become union reps to help make AXA a better place to work and assist their colleagues with any workplace issues:

Brian Collins (Birmingham)

Julia Lawrenson (Bolton)

Alan McGill (Ipswich)

Thanks to all for volunteering.

Sadly Fatima Oomer and Husna Patel have stood down as reps in Bolton and we’d like to thank both of them for the help and assistance they have provided both Unite in AXA and the union members in Bolton over recent years as workplace reps.

Unite members in AXA Belfast and the Direct Branch Network have voted to accept the company offer of a 3% pay pot and a new starters salary of £12,400, rising to £13,400 after probation.

For: 82.98%

Against: 6.39%

The balance of papers were not returned.

These figures are similar to the voting on the AXA UK pay offer were members voted 88.05% in favour of their offer and hopefully demonstrate that the vast majority of Unite in AXA members were pleased with the efforts of the union negotiating team.

Click here to read the latest Unite in AXA newsletter on the 2012 pay offer.

Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.

We are pleased to announce that we have reached an outcome on the pay proposal for employees at Levels 6a to 9:

A pay increase will be awarded based on a pay matrix that varies by level as follows:

Overall, this equates to 3.6% of the total pay spend for Levels 9 – 6a.

Unite recognise that real progress has been made in the pay negotiations and the proposal is a very fair offer in relation to industry wide discussions. Unite will ballot their members for acceptance in the forthcoming pay ballot which will take place from Wednesday 1^st February to Tuesday 14th February.

Vox were also consulted on this proposal in respect of AXA PPP employees, and are in agreement with Unite.

Pay matrix

The following matrices will be used to award pay increases by level as follows:

Level 6 – 3%

Level 7 – 4%

Level 9 and 8 – 4.75%

• These matrices have an element of manager discretion but any adjustments up have to be balanced with movements down – this is necessary to ensure affordability for the business.
• For those employees paid above the pay range (i.e. where their FTE Salary is over the maximum of the pay range) a pay award based upon the maximum salary for their pay range will be made using the same percentages as available to those High in range.
• Pay awards will be available for employees rated as Partially Successful/Developing. The matrices are broadly based around awards that are 50% of those available to employees rated as Successful. All awards are subject to manager discretion and based on the available ranges within these pay matrices.
• For employees paid a salary of less than £13,900 (FTE) after the application of the pay matrices, a further uplift will be made to bring the revised FTE equivalent salary to £13,900. The £13,900 FTE salary is a value suggested by Unite which is prescribed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as being a “minimum income standard”. (Exceptions will be any ring fenced arrangement as a result of a TUPE, employees rated unsatisfactory, employees on the AXA PPP apprenticeship scheme and instances where a manager has elected to make a 0% pay award for Partially Successful/ Developing rating.)
• There will be no immediate changes to the pay ranges for 2012, however an agreement has been reached to review the pay ranges in view of current market conditions in Q3 this year.