The member banks of the Romanian Bank Patronage Council (CPBR), the employers' organization of banks and leasing companies belonging to the same banking groups, signed the new Collective Labor Contract (CCM), the second of its kind negotiated at the level of the financial-banking sector and applicable to group of units.
The Employers' Federation of Financial Services in Romania - The FinBan Federation, which includes the CPBR and the Leasing and Credit Board (PLCR), signed the new collective labor agreement for a period of two years with its trade union negotiating partner, the Federation of Insurance Unions and Banks (FSAB) in a ceremony attended by union leaders and executives of banks and leasing companies.
The signing was attended by Mr. Bogdan Iuliu Hossu, the president of the "Cartel Alfa" Trade Union Confederation, of which FSAB is a part, as well as executives of the Concordia Employers' Confederation, where the FinBan Federation is a member. They emphasized the fact that the two federations, trade union and employer, managed to ensure the continuity of the existence of one of the few collective labor contracts at the level of all sectors of activity in Romania.
"We thank the employer for the effort to initiate the discussions for this new contract during the state of alert, during the pandemic and to complete the negotiations in a timely manner," said Mr. Constantin PARASCHIV, President of FSAB, on the occasion of the signing. "We believe we have achieved meaningful minimum rights for our peers, even in the current unpredictability of the economy, which is no small feat."
Among the benefits identified by the union leader are obtaining a minimum gross salary of 3,300 lei, up from the level of 2,500 lei established by the previous collective agreement, signed at the end of 2018. Also, an increase in the number of compensatory salaries was obtained, especially for older employees. Thus, for a seniority between 5-10 years, the number of compensatory salaries will increase from two to three; between 10-15 years of service, from three to five salaries, and over 15 years of service, employees will receive six compensatory salaries, compared to the previous level of 4 salaries.
For his part, Mr. Sergiu MANEA, the executive president of the Romanian Commercial Bank, who signed the contract from the employer's side as a member of the Board of Directors of the FinBan Federation, said: "We are glad that we manage to maintain this continuity of our employer's vocation, through the efforts of the banking industry, the FSAB and our colleagues in PLCR. The signing of this new contract shows the concern of our members to create predictability for our colleagues, each of our member entities will apply the principles and conditions of this agreement".
On the same occasion, the new Agreement on Telework was signed, which replaces and abrogates the provisions of the similar agreement concluded at the end of 2018, taking into account the new technological realities in the field of digitalization, the legislation on employees' personal data and experience and the options regarding remote work remotely acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic, which stimulated this practice among both employees and employers.
The other benefits related to the previous collective labor agreement signed at the end of 2018 remain unchanged. These include the accounting of the opening and closing times of the units as working time and are included in the 8-hour work schedule, financial aid for special events (birth/adoption of a child, death of a family member), minimum 21 working days of leave annual rest for 0-5 years of service in the same unit, 22 days for over 5 years of service, 3 days off for special events.
The provisions of the contract and the Telework Agreement will apply to a total of approximately 23,000 people.
The CPBR member credit institutions that participated in the negotiations of the collective agreement and that assumed it following its signing are Banca Comerciala Română, BRD-Groupe Société Générale, ING Bank, Raiffeisen Bank and UniCredit Bank, which together employ over 22,000 employees, i.e. almost half of the total number of workers in the Romanian banking sector. PLCR member leasing companies that signed the contract are BCR Leasing IFN S.A., BRD SogeLease IFN S.A., Raiffeisen Leasing IFN S.A. and Unicredit Leasing Corporation IFN S.A.
For more information on CPBR initiatives, please send your questions to the email address office@cpbr.ro.
