Thank you.
I would like to thank the chair for providing me with this opportunity to speak on such an important matter.
I was first hired by the CIBC in 1974 as a teller in Hamilton, Ontario. I was there for one year before I accepted a position at Scotiabank in 1975, also as a teller.
Tellers were historically paid at a bit above minimum wage by all banks. Let it be clear that I only worked for these two banks, but I had so many acquaintances throughout the bank system that I can comfortably state that the practices we are discussing here were pervasive throughout all the major banks.
I was an excellent teller. I never had a single unresolved difference and my customers, who were also my neighbours, found me friendly and approachable. Eventually, I became the head teller, the commercial teller, and the bulk teller. I was then moved to the back office, as an accounting clerk. The bank justified paying back office staff less money because they had no customer contact, thereby making it a less stressful job.
For the first four years of my employment, I was classified as part-time, even though I worked 40 hours per week. At that time, the branch that I worked at was open for extended hours, which meant until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and 6 p.m. on Fridays. I started at 9 a.m. every day and worked all extended hours. No overtime was ever paid. There was no such thing.