Mrs. Chris McMillan is a blind woman living in the UK with an organizing
success story to tell.  Recently the bank in her community closed its
branch, forcing local residents to either use an automatic teller machine
instead or travel by bus to another bank location.  the atm machines were
not equipped with speech synthesis, so instructions could be read to the
blind user.  Older people did not like using them.  Everyone hated the
inconvenience of the bus trip.  worse still was that the new bank was not
wheelchair accessible and required people to climb a flight of stairs to
access a teller.  Other community activists were up in arms about the
community disinvestment by the bank.  The issue spread regional and to a
certain degree national.  The bank has finally reversed course and brought
back the tellers.  Below Cris celebrates the success of her campaign and
describes her organizing efforts.

kelly





mailto:[log in to unmask]
From: Chris McMillan <[log in to unmask]>

I've been saying things in the blind.social about inaccessible cashpint
machines?  Well, life has been very exciting here since I first mentioned
it.  Below is the final article in a haul going over several weeks.

I was filmed for our national BBC 1 TV some weeks ago along with another
visually impaired elderly lady (but my bit was kept in, so I spoke!) which
went out on a lunch time slot. That, I know, was seen in Belgium as well as
by many people in the UK - who got a shock I can tell you!  Later reports
tell me that I've also been seen in a clip actually operating the machine
(taken at the same time but not used in the first programme) on BBC 2 and an
indepdendent TV station elsewhere in the south of england. That was just
nationally, and some were shown before the final outcome, others afterwards.

Locally, I've had my photo twice in the Reading Chronicle (our weekly paper)
who've been supporting the campaign and giving it front page news each week,
plus quotes.

The bank got so dogmatic about the affair, a group of visually impaired
people, including myself, stood outside the Reading branch they wish us to
use (which is inaccessible) with placards one lunch time. Most of those with
me were elderly and two people had hearing impairments. One I know very
well: I got him to talk to the paper itself and he was interviewed for TV,
so I hope it was shown (I haven't heard from him since).

Anyway, apart from what is written here, we'll have the cashiers returned to
all the 3 branches part-time, and my own voluntary association for the blind
is going to make sure they place an interview room on the ground floor
because the lift is inaccessible (and probably always will be). They've also
agreed to put back four cashiers full time on this floor.

We're not there with the machines yet - but the interactive one has only
just been unveiled.

************************************************************************************

Chronicle shows the way to keep banks personal

Reading MPs Martin Salter and Jane Griffiths will be using the Chronicle's
'Keep Banking Personal' campaign as a blueprint for a drive to ensure every
community in the country has a bank which is open and staffed.

Their House of Commons motion calling for an independent banking regulator
to ensure banks operate in less profitable areas has now been signed by 60
MPs. (1)

Mr. Salter said: The support for this motion shows that the campaign was not
just a Reading issue we were fighting for, but an important part of the
whole future of banking.

And junior banking and employment minister Margaret Hodge told Mr. Salter in
a letter: The Keep Banking Personal campaign that you organised in
conjunction with the Reading Chronicle proved a valuable tool in helping to
highlight people's concerns.

Mrs. Hodge has sent Lloyds TSB management a copy of the Code of Practice
contained in the Disability Discrimination Act due to come into force in
October.

And final confirmation of the bank's climbdown came last Friday (16th), when
Lloyds TSB deputy chairman Sir Nicholas Goodison wrote to Mr. Salter after
admitting during a face to face meeting earlier in the month that the pilot
scheme was an 'absolute disaster'.

His letter read 'I am aware of the problems surrounding the pilot and I can
assure you that we do not see it as a model to copy elsewhere.

Mr. Salter said: I think this proves that I was not lying about my
conversation with Sir Nicholas, as some of his underlings were implying
afterwards.





(1) as of Friday 23rd July)
Sincerely, Chris

--
Mrs. Chris McMillan. Tel. 0118 926 5450. e-mail:
[log in to unmask] http://www.mikesounds.demon.co.uk/


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