CIS agents begin protest

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated: 04:40 EST, 27 September 2005

FINANCIAL advisers at the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) will today stage their first strike in 35 years in a dispute over new contracts of employment.

Around 2,000 employees of CIS, the Co-op Group's insurance business, will walk out for 48 hours in protest at the contracts which they claim could lead to pay cuts of up to 30%. The protest will be part of a two-day strike.

The workers, members of Usdaw, will stage a rally in Manchester as part of their campaign. The union is seeking binding arbitration in a bid to break the deadlocked dispute.

CIS's 2,100 agents form the UK's largest home-service financial salesforce. But the mutual insurer's bosses, as part of a sweeping modernisation programme, say agents must sell more policies and investments if they are to earn their keep.

Door-to-door premium collecting has been automated, and customers' phone calls, instead of going to local offices or direct to agents, are being routed to call centres.

CIS boss David Anderson says these changes are vital if the company is to compete. He says the salesforce is a crucial part of CIS's future -provided agents toe the line and agree to the new terms.

But the agents, 1,800 of whom belong to Usdaw, say the company is robbing them of jobs without compensation. 'Our roles will be so different that many of us won't want to do them,' said one.