ContractorS be warned! A collegue of mine recently negotiated a rate increase (to the agency from the bank) for a certain Zurich based bank only to be told that it was written in the small print that 'the rate can never increase' [this was for a contract extension]

Given the number of people who appear to be leaving this particular institution's IT department, some with no jobs to go to - by their own free will, I'd be tempted to steer clear if I were ConSidering working there

Well, this depends on the contract and the terms agreed upon when the contract was initially signed. Most banks have preferred vendors for consulting and the contracts tend to be more "flexible" for them.

Also depends on the market situation and the supply demand for consultants in the particular area of expertise.

I would not generalize.

Sounds fishy.

I'm one of the lucky escapee's. They are really pushing down the price of everyone at the moment, favouring cheap in-duh-viduals to more expensive people with experience.

The man at the top is an idiot.

How do they agree to a rate increase when it is fixed as per the contract??

When it comes round to contract renewal it is often possible to get an increase based on the quality of work and the shortage of qualified staff in some area's. However, some agencies have blanket contracts that are tied to the level of the employee. E.g. Band 3 equals a daily rate of 1K. So in order for these firms to get a rate increase the guy would need to proceed to the next band. BUT, there is a cap per department on the number of employee's per band so it's pretty difficult to get much of an increase.