A WAR of words has broken out between banking giant HSBC - a big employer in Southampton - and a leading union over pay.

Amicus fired the first salvo by launching an advertising campaign against the bank, which employs more than 1,000 people in the city, most of whom work at the high-rise Nelson Gate office.

The stunt coincided with thousands of workers across the country receiving ballot papers asking if they want to strike over pay.

Amicus yesterday sent vehicles on to the streets of London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leeds and Birmingham displaying the slogan "HSBC - the world's stingiest bank".

The union said it was preparing for industrial action in protest at a "derisory" pay offer and plans to cut bonuses.

HSBC made record profits of £9.6 billion last year, with nearly £2.1bn coming from the UK.

Amicus claims ten per cent of workers will get no pay rise and 45 per cent will receive an increase below the rate of inflation.

Customers will also be polled over their attitude to the way the bank treats its staff.

A strike will be held on May 27, the day of the bank's AGM, if a vote is taken in favour of industrial action.

Rob O'Neill, an Amicus national officer, said: "We want the British public and HSBC customers to know that at a time when HSBC have made record profits for a UK bank they are cutting the pay of exactly the same staff who have delivered the customer service and shareholder value that has made HSBC the UK's most successful bank."

But the bank went on the offensive by saying it is trying to bring its lower-paid staff up to the average market rate.

It also stressed that 70 per cent of employees will receive bonuses worth ten per cent of their salary.

Sue Jex, head of employee support, said: "We are hugely disappointed by the union's attempts to destabilise some of our staff and inconvenience our customers. The bank is committed to sharing its success with its employees, as demonstrated by the record £164 million pay and bonus award this year.

"Meanwhile, we have already recruited around 1,000 new staff for our branches this year and this week we'll announce new childcare support, providing the equivalent of a 6.5 per cent pay rise for a typical working parent in the bank. "Our desire is to reward staff fairly, based on a combination of market comparisons and job-related performance.

"As a result, this year just 0.2 per cent of staff with satisfactory performance reviews received no pay or bonus award, and going forward we're offering unlimited bonuses for high performers."