Full report, English - Unite the Union

Building trade union capacity for
Social Dialogue through the provision
and analysis of change within the
European Finance Sector
VS/2011/0401
February 2013
Final draft prepared by David Tarren, Syndex UK
Financially supported by the European Commission

Contents
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 6
The role of the finance sector 6
Outline of the Project 10
Methodology 12
Coordinating collective bargaining in the graphical sector 13
Purpose of the Survey 14
Economic outlook in 2012 16
Responses 20
Collective Bargaining in the Finance Sector 21
Redundancies 25
Italy: Collective Workers’ Fund 28
Key Challenges for Finance Workers 30
European Social Dialogue 30
The Role of European Works Councils 31
BNP Paribas: the Role of Social Dialogue to Anticipate Change 32
Impact of the Crisis – Evidence from Affiliates 32
Insecurity – A New Model of Employment? 33
Quantitative issues 34
Qualitative issues 35
Unions Organise to Resist 36
Conclusions 38
Recommendations 39
Annexes
A – London Declaration 41
B – Employment figures for the finance sector 42
C – Number of banks in Europe 43
D – Finance sector employment figures 44
E – Graphical sector bargaining coordination 45
F – Resources and further reading 48
[2]

Acknowledgements
Although this report is the culmination of several stages of work, including desk research, workshop
discussions, responses from UNI EF affiliates, interviews with individual workers and union
representatives and from the discussions among the participants of the London conference in October
2012, the author would particularly like to thank Bernadette Fisher (National Secretary for the Finance
sector in Unite the Union), for offering advice and sharing her extensive knowledge of the finance
sector.
Many thanks also to Mario Ongaro (CGIL) for his expertise and very welcome advice at Steering Group
meetings and Elizabeth Cairns, Peter Pippington and Desrine Dwyer from Unite the union, Claudia
Saller, Marcio Monzane, Oliver Roethig and Rachel Owens from UNI EF who provided information and
guidance throughout the project. Finally, thank you to all of those individuals who provided the author
with information and statistics on the finance sector in their own countries and, although the budgetary
constraints of this research prevent the inclusion of all information provided by UNI EF and its affiliates,
this additional material will be invaluable for future research by unions in the sector and, in particular,
the annual bargaining analyses.
Although this project was made possible by the financial support of the European Commission, the contents of
this publication are the sole responsibility of its author and the European Commission is in no way responsible
for either the accuracy of the information, or for any use that may be made of the information, contained herein.
For the purposes of this paper, the finance sector includes the banking industry (retail, and wholesale) and the
insurance industry (life and non-life insurance).
[3]

Executive Summary
This report and the overarching project from which it emerged aims to provide trade unions in the finance
sector with an improved enhanced appreciation of the impact on workers of employer responses to the
crisis and an opportunity to develop a pan-European approach to social dialogue and collective
bargaining. Although gaps still exist in the data collected and its geographical coverage, the research has
identified a number of distinct strategies by employers with the sole objective of creating a more
compliant and flexible workforce and, at the same time, replacing social dialogue and collective
bargaining with the imposition of change through unilateral decision making. The following points
represent the key findings of the research:
Increased labour flexibility
Employees are expected to demonstrate more loyalty, for example by working unpaid overtime, but at
the same time employers have significantly more discretion to broaden the range of tasks their
employees are expected to undertake.
Increase in stress
Finance workers are more frequently under greater pressure to meet targets, the levels of which were
less likely to have been set through joint discussions. This view was shared by a number of
questionnaire respondents, one of which remarked that “there is an even higher pressure [on workers]
to achieve targets” and a “willingness of employers to dismiss for underperformance.”
Intensification of work
In their responses to the questionnaire, and through their participation in the debates at the conference,
trade unions frequently made reference to the changes in work intensity and this was deemed
particularly so since the onset of the crisis. Without doubt, according to union representatives,
employers are today demanding more work from their workforce to be performed within the same
working time.
Reduction in wages, bonuses and other benefits.
As the crisis has evolved employers have sought to reduce costs and, given their relative size as a
proportion of overall business expenditure, labour costs have been the focus of this process. Many
workers have seen their wages fall or, for the more fortunate, frozen and this experience extends beyond
the basic wage packet to other monetary benefits. Throughout the crisis the wages of the sector’s
workforce have risen less than those for workers elsewhere, despite the sector’s healthy profits.
[4]

Undermining Social Dialogue
Finance employers are constantly seeking to undermine social dialogue and collective bargaining by
unilaterally determining new employment practices for their existing employees. Companies and employer
organisations has become tougher when it comes to negotiations, and are using the fear of the crisis as a
tool for lowering expectancies and, subsequently, salaries. Employee acquiescence, as a result of high
levels of job insecurity, has ensured very little resistance from the workforce as employees fear for their
jobs. The long term interests of the sector and its workforce can only be achieved within a framework of
collective bargaining, which is why Unite and UNI Europa Finance are fully committed to preserving and
strengthening collective bargaining structures throughout the finance industry in Europe.
Government aggression
National governments, or in some cases with the support of the Troika, have deliberately undermined
collective bargaining and therefore have implicitly supported the attacks on workers by employers.
Creating an unsustainable finance sector
Finance companies, through their attempts to erode terms and conditions of employment are threatening
the long term sustainability of the sector, both in terms of its role as a provider of financial products and
as a chosen career for younger workers entering the labour market. The public’s perception of the
sector is also being damaged by the retrenchment from rural areas of bank branches, which is having a
negative effect on local communities by denying local banking services and its associated benefits.
[5]

Introduction
Beyond their role “at the origin of the current global crisis” 1 , major financial institutions have been
emboldened in recent years to undertake sweeping changes to their employment practices as they
seek even greater cost reductions and the crisis deepens. Thus, previously unacceptable terms of
employment are now accepted by workers, albeit reluctantly, as their employer exploits their
diminishing job security and their workers’ fear of unemployment. In this sense financial institutions,
having already benefited from money from the public, are now driving through changes to the
employment conditions of workers and destroying social dialogue and collective bargaining in the
process. But it is not only the trust and commitment of the workforce that employers are eroding. The
sector’s image, as a trusted supplier of financial products, and as a career choice for younger workers
is also at stake. In short, banks and insurance companies are taking advantage of an economic
environment they themselves were central in creating, and are seeking to radically alter employment
relations using the impact of the crisis as an excuse to do so. Individual employees on the other hand
are paying the ultimate price for this exercise - as workers and as taxpayers, and, in the coming years
as consumers.
The role of the finance sector
Just like workers elsewhere, those employed in the European finance sector are paying the price for
the mistakes of others as the punitive, and economically flawed, remedies prescribed by their
employers and their neo-liberal advisers bite down hard on their terms and conditions. The erosion of
these employment rights, hard won over decades, is creating the foundations for an insecure and,
consequently, disloyal workforce and a finance sector that is no longer considered by young people as
one offering a career. As a provider of employment for 6.5m people in Europe, the sector has a clear
duty to ensure workers are treated fairly, their compensation is proportionate and adhere to European
standards in employment relations. But on top of this, and unlike other sectors, financial institutions
provide a pivotal service for society, in terms of providing funds for investment, for both public and
private organisations and for providing services that enable the participation of all citizens in society.
Unlike most others, the sector is fundamental to the execution of political and economic policies that
drive, or restrain growth, and ultimately safeguard the economy. It is unsurprising therefore that the
behaviour and actions of our financial institutions are of such importance to all of us and that their range
of influence far exceeds that of an employer or service provider. In other words, the finance sector is
very special and thus ought to attract greater interest from stakeholders, which include workers and
their representatives.
1 “Recession and social dialogue in the banking sector: a global perspective”, Soriano, C. Eurofound (2011)
[6]

During the research phase of the project finance trade unions reported large scale job losses as a
result of cost saving programmes; the introduction of automation and large scale restructuring; the
imposition of inferior contracts of employment; the intensification of work; the increase in precarious
employment and the introduction of new wage structures which discourage long-term employment.
Whilst trade unions readily acknowledge the genuine need for the sector to adapt, often working in
partnership with employers to do so, such changes ought to be undertaken within a framework of social
dialogue and with the full involvement of worker’s representatives, and not unilaterally enforced by
employers and according to short-term vested interests. Social dialogue is an important vehicle
through which genuine employee participation is achieved and it role is considered central by the
European institutions and the majority of EU27 national governments, within the framework of the
European social model. Although the strength of Anglo-Saxon employment relations systems is drawn
purely from the wholesale eradication of employment protection, many European member states
continue to value the role of the discussions between employer and worker representatives and of the
role of collective bargaining and employee participation within democracies.
As an illustration of the pivotal role of social dialogue and its capacity for managing consensual change,
in 2011 the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion reported that "we have to
emerge from the crisis with more and not less social dialogue - this will also help bolster the
competitiveness of Europe's economy ... [and] ... Member States where social partnership is strongest
are those that are successfully overcoming the crisis".
In the absence of employee engagement, combined with a long-term strategy which focuses on growth
and secure and rewarding employment, the current job losses and wage freezes in the sector, the
closure of pension schemes and the increased use of outsourcing as a cost saving device are simply
short term responses to the crisis and not in the long-term interests of the sector. On the contrary,
changes introduced without employee involvement will undermine our economic recovery and weaken
the sector, causing long lasting and irreparable damage. These changes are being made at a rapid
pace by employers with very little social dialogue and are taking place in an environment devoid of a
detailed and holistic analysis of the implications both for the sector, its workforce and our wider society.
It is in this context that employers ought to engage with trade unions to develop joint strategies which,
in turn, will encourage loyalty, commitment and consent for the necessary reforms and of joint solutions
[7]

to the problems confronting the sector 2 . However, and despite this, employers are in many cases
resisting union involvement and prefer instead to unilaterally determine changes to working conditions.
But fortunately, such an attitude is by no means universal or is a view held by all employers in the
sector. In fact, rather than pulling away from worker engagement, crises of the scale currently being
experienced ought to engender a climate of cooperation and evidence shows that, in a significant
number of European countries, “collective bargaining became more common during the crisis” 3 as the
traditional positions of employers and trade unions were abandoned while pragmatic and innovative
solutions emerged. 4 In terms of future economic development, “the crisis has also made the task of
securing future economic growth much more difficult” 5 , has placed a greater emphasis on partnerships
between employers and trade unions.
Without the necessary information about current and future trends within the sector trade unions are
unable to actively participate in meaningful social dialogue that can both anticipate and respond to
change, and this project will serve to strengthen collective bargaining and wider social dialogue within
the sector. With comprehensive information workers and their unions will have greater capacity for
creating their own strategies to strengthen collective bargaining and social dialogue and for generating
sufficient leverage to fairly distribution of the sector’s economic output. Thus, the research and
conference will create a sustainable process to allow unions in the sector to measure, benchmark and
analyse the evolution of the sector and to have information on the terms and conditions of the sector’s
workforce and working environment across the EU27. The process of data collection will allow rich
analyses that will be disseminated throughout the sector and will consolidate and improve the capacity
of trade unions to offer a genuine and informed role throughout the crisis and beyond.
This pan-European trade union strategy will rely heavily upon the willingness of employers to engage
and collaborate with their employees, and the original project proposal to the European Commission
offered an overview of how the anticipation of change from within trade unions will eventually replace
the current and immediate quick and short-term responses to change, when unions are afforded
insufficient time and resources to properly contribute to discussions. Given the magnitude, scope and
impact of the financial crisis, this report will act as a catalyst for a wider, long-term, engagement of
worker representatives across the EU27 and, in particular, within new member states.
2 “Impact of the Financial Crisis on Finance Sector Workers”, International Labour Office, (2009)
3 “Impact of the Financial Crisis on Finance Sector Workers”, International Labour Office, (2009)
4 “Social Dialogue in times of Crisis”, Guyet, R. and Tarren, D. Eurofound (2012)
5 Europe 2020 - European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”, European Commission (2010)
[8]

The first, and immediate, need of trade unions in generating this change, is access to current and
relevant information - for example, changes to the terms of terms and conditions of employees, their
training opportunities and career development, retirement and overall security is a pre-requisite for
engaging in a meaningful way with policy makers and employers at both the national and European
levels. This report highlights some of the key sectoral trends of 2012 and will be built upon annually
through the regular collection of data from amongst UNI EF affiliates.
The long-term objective of these annual assessments is to map and follow the trends and changes on
issues such as skills development, career development, worker mobility and the position of older
workers in the sector. Although, as the Commission’s New Skills for New Jobs strategy suggests,
demographic change will mean that “the ageing effect will outstrip the increase in participation rates”
and that this process “ will affect Member States in different ways”, suggesting the need for wider cooperation
and co-ordination of policies and initiatives to counter these effects. This is an area to which
the annual assessments will contribute and by doing so will provide a better understanding of the
sector, not only for the trade unions but for employers, the European institutions and other European
stakeholders. Trade unions need to be aware of the changing nature of skills in the sector to enable
them to anticipate and prepare for change more effectively. As the Commission points out, “skills
upgrading is critically important for Europe’s short-term recovery and longer term growth and
productivity, for its jobs and its capacity to adapt to change, for equity, gender equality and social
cohesion”. 6
An example of the positive outcomes of social dialogue can be demonstrated by the agreement
between employers and unions in the European automotive sector. In 2007, the employers and unions
of the automotive sector concluded a ground-breaking agreement on anticipating change in the sector.
The initiative, supported by the European Commission, was aimed at “maintaining and strengthening
the competitive position of EU automotive companies, creating quality jobs and reinforcing the
employability of the workers of the sector, a pre-condition for sustainable growth and social cohesion”.
The partnership document sets out the operation of the joint venture and emphasises that “change and
restructuring are not synonymous with social decline and loss of economic substance. Rather, change
underpins both economic and social progress when it is anticipated in a context of effective social
6 “New Skills for New Jobs”, European Commission (2009)
[9]

dialogue and when both social partners and public authorities ensure that it takes place under sound,
sustainable and socially responsible conditions.” 7
Outline of the project
The idea of this project had existed long before it was submitted to the European Commission by Unite
the union, the largest private sector union in the UK and home of the largest finance trade union
members. Like all trade unions in Anglo-Saxon systems of employment relations, Unite has been faced
with an ever increasingly hostile environment in which a significant bulk of British employers are
constantly seeking to remove the very notion of trade unionism from the workplace. In this respect the
finance sector is no different from many sectors in the economy. However, the power vested in
financial institutions by successive governments, to expand their presence across the entire economy
and, by virtue of UK’s unashamedly draconian anti-union legislation, to marginalise and even remove
completely the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining. This unchallenged and absolute
hegemony of employers is further compounded by a highly decentralised employment relations
structure in which trade unions struggle to maintain their existence.
The European Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy highlights its priorities for employment through
growth that is smart (developing knowledge and innovation), sustainable (promoting resource efficient,
greener and more competitive economies) and inclusive (by fostering a high-employment economy,
able to deliver social and geographical cohesion). The foundations of the project were based around a
number of themes, two of which are clear priorities for the Commission - “modernisation of labour
markets ... by developing their of skills throughout the lifecycle with a view to increasing labour
participation and better match labour supply and demand” and “enhance[ing] the performance of
education systems ... to facilitate the entry of young people to the labour market”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the crisis has had a significant impact on the finance sector, especially in those
member states which heavily relied on the sector for growth, both in terms of GDP and employment.
However, evidence from trade unions representing finance workers shows that the crisis is now being
used by employers to legitimise previously sought after reductions in the employment conditions of
their workforce and to undermine social dialogue and collective bargaining. In response, UNI Europa
Finance affiliates endorsed in 2012 a proposal by Unite the union to step up their efforts to strengthen
7 “The challenges of the automotive industry – Towards a European partnership for the anticipation of change”,
European Partnership for the Anticipation of Change in the Automotive sector (2007)
[10]

cross border solidarity among workers, to intensify the coordination of collective bargaining initiatives
and to undertake an annual review of the employment practices across the sector, the strategic
objectives of both banks and insurance companies and union action to enhance their actions in
preventing the erosion of wages and other conditions of employment.
Thus the need to create a mechanism for the annual collection of data on the outcomes of collective
bargaining and emerging employment trends and the exchange of experiences and knowledge among
EU27 finance trade unions appeared long before this project was conceived. The project was designed
to support UNI Europa Finance and its affiliates in their work to prevent a race to the bottom in terms
and conditions by establishing a sustainable mechanism for the exchange of information on collective
bargaining, the measurement and comparative assessment of its outcomes and the formulation of
consequent actions as a result of collective bargaining undertaken across the European finance sector.
This research report forms part of a project submitted by Unite the union, under the European
Commission budget for Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue (04.03.03.01). The project had
several, challenging objectives, chief among which was to create a process of collecting and analysing
data from trade union workplace representatives on the process and outcomes of collective bargaining
and the less formalised discussions between the social partners over working conditions, such as
career progression, gender equality, vocational training, work organisation, young workers,
restructuring and the anticipation of change. The project was supported by UNI Europa Finance and a
number of European trade unions representing workers within the finance sector. UNI Europa itself
has for some time sought to create a stronger cooperation between European Works Councils across
the finance sector 8 and this project was a logical extension of the federation’s position and a number of
other initiatives it, along with finance affiliates, had introduced. For the purposes of the project, the
financial institutions for which data was available through the European finance sector includes all
banks and insurance companies within the EU27.
The project, which aimed to build on work previously by Unite the union, UNI Europa Finance and its
affiliates work on collective bargaining and enhances the collective bargaining strategy adopted by the
UNI EF conference in 2008 by strengthening collective bargaining by gathering, collecting and making
available relevant information to support trade union participation in this process by:
8 “Developing Cooperation of European Works Councils in the Finance Sector”. Richards, B for UNI Europa
Finance (2004)
[11]

Strengthening collective bargaining and social dialogue by offering trade unions information about
developments across the European finance sector
Benchmarking collective bargaining outcomes, creating transparency in the process, which allow
a comparison to be made between companies and their bargaining strategies
Improving the co-operation and joint actions between the sector’s trade unions on issues related to
collective bargaining across Europe which will promote the open exchange of knowledge and
experience, particularly for new Member States.
Benchmarking and improving transnational company agreements to help better regulate issues
around collective bargaining to prevent a race to the bottom in terms and conditions
Methodology
A workshop was held in April 2012 with the aim of creating a small, cohesive body of union
representatives, which were prepared and able to ‘champion’ and promote the project across the
sector. The workshop participants discussed the overall objectives of the project and through their
experience and knowledge were able to improve the original proposed methodology and contribute to
the research by providing information on the trends at national and sector level and to generally
contextualise these in the broader framework of the sector.
The research sought to elicit the views and experiences of UNI Europa Finance affiliates on a range of
issues related to employment relations, to complement desk research. A key part of this process was
the production of questionnaires for banking and insurance respondents, which was distributed by UNI
Europa Finance to all finance affiliate unions. The questionnaire had three sections:
Section 1 referred to new agreements concluded in 2012 and Section 2 to existing agreements.
Respondents were required to provide information on any collective agreements in that had been
concluded in 2012. They were then asked about other topics, including social dialogue, tripartite
bodies, communication while negotiating, pay increases (collective and variable), coverage of
agreements, pension contributions, terms and conditions and working time. Section 3 asked
questions about information and consultation, industrial action, redundancies and business strategies
such as outsourcing.
[12]

In order to strengthen the existing network among finance trade union representatives, a workshop was
held in London in April 2012. Delegates at the workshop discussed the early desk research, identified
areas of focus for the research and created ‘buy-in’ from UNI Europa Finance affiliates. So-called
Champions were identified at the workshop whose role through the following months was to ensure the
questionnaires were completed across their union and to raise awareness of the conference in order to
increase participation. At the workshop discussions took place over the feasibility of the collection of
data and over the proposed methodology for achieving a comprehensive set of reliable and up to date
data from affiliates.
Finally a conference was held from 15 th to 18 th October in London at which delegates heard about
different issues affecting the finance sector, from a range of speakers, contributed to workshops on
these issues and the potential for engaging with employers to influence their decisions. Delegates also
participated in a plenary session, in which specific issues were debated comprehensively, which
ultimately fed into the project research or provided useful information for future actions.
Purpose of the Survey
The main aims of the Annual Collective Bargaining Survey were to:
Provide an overview of annual developments in the finance sector.
Offer data on the employment trends from the sector.
Assist the annual conference to identify, and to establish, priorities for the coming year.
Improve the exchange of information to affiliates on national collective bargaining rounds
To assist UNI EF and affiliates to improve the cohesion and relationships between finance unions.
The inaugural survey was inspired by a similar exercise undertaken within the graphical sector and
facilitated by UNI Europa Graphical on an annual basis over the past two decades. The box below
outlines the rationale for the investment in time and resources made on an annual basis to strengthen
the coordination of collective bargaining and the annual collective bargaining report.
[13]

Coordination of collective bargaining in the graphical sector
UNI Europa Graphical declared recently that although the creation of a European-wide sector collective
agreement is still a distant hope, the coordination of bargaining remains absolutely essential and the
federation and its affiliates must continue their efforts to create a coordinated front against employer
attacks. UNI EG wants to create a stronger trade union network more aware of changes in employer
behaviour and with the ability to better resist, or mitigate, employer attempts to exploit workers and cut
their employment conditions.
Over the past two decades the internet, increased competition from low wage economies and greater
technological advances in print and packaging have created an environment in which workers have
been hit with a relentless assault on their terms and conditions as employers increase their efforts to
decentralise collective bargaining. These attacks have taken place within the context of the gradual
breakdown of national bargaining machinery in a number of member states and the refusal of employers
to engage in dialogue at the European level. Structural issues in the sector, such as the consolidation
of gravure printers, due to severe overcapacity in Europe, and two decades of employer hostility towards
engagement have combined to make the work of UNI EG and its affiliates significantly more difficult.
Nevertheless, the federation and its affiliate unions, despite the hostile environment, have achieved a
number of positive outcomes - greater worker solidarity, an enhanced understanding of the sector and
ongoing pan-European union dialogue are all as a result of union efforts and represent a solid bedrock
on which they can build. Very recently the European employer representatives and UNI EG concluded
an agreement for the creation of a European Social Dialogue Committee. This enduring work from
unions and their federation has been significantly enhanced as a direct effect of the coordinated
approach and the annual sectoral analyses.
The context to the creation of a formal bargaining policy among UNI EG affiliates was the increasing
move towards greater European economic integration, the introduction of the Maastricht Treaty and the
creation of the European currency. The creation of the Doorn group, a collection of unions from the
metal sector in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France, as response to an
increasing use of pan-European employment relation strategies of European multinational companies
over labour costs and investment was the first attempt by unions to create a stronger and better
organised network of worker representation and to improve cross border coordination of collective
bargaining. Following the introduction of the Euro, the ETUC established its Collective Bargaining
Committee and the EMF launched a comprehensive and coordinated drive to coordinate bargaining and
to establish a European-wide target for wage increases.
In 1993, and in response to these events, the EGF [14] (the predecessor of UNI) sought to establish a clear
and coherent strategy to improve the coordination of collective bargaining and to improve union
understanding of the trends at the national and European levels and, in so doing, grant unions the

The annual reports have also provided an overview of bargaining outcomes, in relation to the agreed
Guideline Target, on a country by country basis, and a detailed overview of sectoral developments,
including industrial action, mergers and acquisitions and overall structural changes within the sector. The
Guideline Target is set as a target for annual wage increases across the sector and is the sum of national
inflation and productivity – hence exceeding the target provides a real wage increase for workers in the
sector.
This ongoing collaboration among graphical affiliates and UNI Europa Graphical has created an
extensive and comprehensive knowledge base among unions on the trends and future possible
trajectories, employer strategies and general company attitudes to employment. Each year, following the
publication of the annual bargaining report, UNI EG affiliates meet to discuss the outcomes, strategy and
sectoral developments and a website, specifically for this work, allows union representatives to download
the report, which in turn provides a very wide distribution network.
As a result of a focused approach to monitoring collective bargaining in the sector, affiliates have
developed European networks for workers in packaging, publishing, newspapers and gravure printing.
Concrete outcomes through discussions among affiliates, and informed by the annual report, include a
limitation placed on overtime of 100 hours per year (2002), firmer guidelines for affiliates to achieve
gender equality (2003), minimum standards agreed by affiliates in the provision of occupational pensions
(2005) and an agreement among affiliates to inform each other ahead of commencing negotiations with
employers with a procedure to ensure transnational solidarity in the event that an affiliate is adversely
affected by the restructuring of a multinational company.
See Annex E for further information.
[15]

Economic outlook 2012
According to the European Commission, finance is among a number of sectors which are characterised
by overcapacity and that face deteriorating employment levels over and above other sectors of the
European economy. 9 Furthermore the Commission expects employment to “increase or at least to
stabilise by 2014 in all Member States except for Cyprus and Slovenia. Unemployment rates are
forecast to fall in the large majority of Member States with the exception of Belgium, France, Italy,
Cyprus, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Romania”. 10
The downward pressure on the wages and working conditions of finance sector workers continued
through 2012, as employers attempted to reduce costs as the global financial crisis entered its fourth
year. Harshly hit by the impact of the crisis, which led to all out recession in several countries, the
finance sector, within a number of member states (namely in the UK and Italy), experienced large scale
redundancies. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area remained high,
progressing steadily in nineteen out of 27 countries, to reach almost 11 % (10.9 %) in early 2012 for the
total Euro zone. The average unemployment rate in the EA 17 was 9.7 % in 2011, and almost 10% in
the EU 27 (which is also the highest since 2000). According to Eurostat data, the number of
unemployed persons has been rising from 15 million in late 2010 and early 2011 to 17 million in 2012 in
the Euro Area (EA). This figure increases to 24.7 million if measured across the Euro 27 countries and
among those countries hardest hit were Spain and Greece.
Unemployment and government budget cuts, which depress demand, coupled with other trends
generally explain the low growth throughout Europe in 2011. GDP growth in 2011 was lower than in
2010 and the annual GDP growth rate in 2011 for both the EA 17 and EU 27 was 1.5%. This compares
to 1.9 % and 2.0% for 2010 respectively. According to Eurostat’s Harmonised Index of Consumer
Prices (HICP), the annual percent change in the general price level of consumer goods and services
increased by 2.9% in the European Union (EU) and 2.7% in the Euro Area between January 2011 and
January 2012. Combined with the low level of average wage increases across the Eurozone, these
figures further compound the difficulties faced by employers and employees which further erode growth
in Europe.
9 “European Economic Forecast”, European Commission (Autumn 2012)
10 Ibid
[16]

The figure below 11 shows the changes over a four year period of job losses and job gains across EU27.
While the data is not available for individual sectors, the trends illustrate the volatile employment
conditions across Europe and appear to show a worsening of labour markets through 2012.
Figure 1: Job losses and job gains across EU27
A significant financial influence on a country’s economy is the ability of its citizens to purchase
consumer goods, and so the value of household disposable income is a useful indicator of a country’s
current and future economic climate. The graph below provides information on household
indebtedness as a ratio of household income on a country by country basis and serves as an illustration
of the difficulties that lie ahead for a number of countries as they attempt to generate growth.
11 Data provided by the European Monitoring Centre on Change which is part of the European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, a European Union body.
[17]

The legislative context is also an important factor affecting the extent to which employers are free to
dismiss workers, alter their contracts or worsen their conditions of employment. The figure below, from
OECD data, shows the relative protection afforded by national employment legislation across European
member states. The left hand axis shows the relevant level of employment protection and higher
values suggest higher employment protection.
Figure 3: Relative employment protection for employees across a range of European countries
The relative legislative protection provided by the state will to a degree determine the perception of
employment security among workers and therefore ought to be considered when assessing the
evolution of employee perceptions at work.
From the above figure, it would be unsurprising if British workers felt more exposed to the possibility of
unemployment than workers in Germany, for example. It would also be of no surprise if employers in
the UK introduced reforms to contracts of employment at a faster rate than elsewhere given the relative
ease of such a process – with fewer rights to information and consultation employers are able to
introduce changes quicker and with greater ease than in other member states.
[18]

The graph below 12 shows the aggregate value of the balance sheets of insurance companies in a range
of member states as a share of their GDP.
Figure 4: The balance sheet total as % of GDP in 2006
Although unable to present an in-depth analysis of these figures in this document, it is useful
nevertheless to appreciate the economic position of insurance companies across Europe as a
proportion of the country’s overall wealth. Once more, again reflecting a similar trend elsewhere in this
report, the value of British insurance companies far exceed the entire wealth of the country. This ratio
provides an insight into the economic power and relative dependency of the state on the sector.
Although the current economic crisis exposed banks rather than insurance companies, the sums
required to balance severe losses as a consequence of a further degradation of the revenue of the
sector are indeed colossal and highlight the degree of vulnerability within economies when crises
destabilise and wreck our economic system.
12 “Statistics in focus: Industry, trade and services”, Grell. M, Published by Eurostat (75/2008)
[19]

Responses
As the table below shows, replies were received from UNI EF affiliates. A total of 11 replies were received from affiliates within the insurance sector, and 15
from those in the banking sector, from the following affiliates^:
Table 1: Replies to the questionnaire from trade unions representing workers in Insurance and Banking
Insurance
Banking
Country Affiliate Country Affiliate
Austria Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, Druck, Journalismus, Papier (GPA-djp) Austria Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, Druck, Journalismus, Papier (GPA-djp)
Cyprus ETYK Croatia Union of Bank and Financial Employees
Denmark Association of Insurance Employees (DFL) Cyprus ETYK
Finland Vakuutusväen Liitto VvL ry Denmark Financial Services Union (FSU)
France FEC Force Ouvriere Finland Trade Union Pro
Germany Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) France FEC Force Ouvriere
Hungary BBDSZ Germany Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di)
Italy FISAC-CGIL Greece Federation of Bank Employee Unions (ΟΤΟΕ)
UK Unite the union Israel UCAPSE
Italy Federazione Autonoma Bancari Italiani
FISAC-CGIL
Malta General Workers Union
Sweden Finansforbundet
UK Unite the Union
^ The variations between the total in the table and the number of responses is attributed to the fact that a number of unions represent workers in both subsectors.
[20]

Collective bargaining in the finance sector
This report is primarily concerned with the outcomes of collective bargaining within the finance sector in
Europe. While collective bargaining can be defined as the process of negotiation between unions and
employers over the terms and conditions of employment, leading to joint regulation, the outcomes of
less formal discussions between the two are also very helpful to fully understand the changing
dynamics and outcomes of employment relations in the sector.
From the information provided in the questionnaires and subsequent discussions with affiliates, the
process of decentralisation of collective bargaining appears to have gained momentum throughout the
crisis. This process of decentralisation can be seen as either organised or disorganised and, while the
former usually takes the form of local agreements based within the context of agreements at sector
level, disorganised decentralisation is often the result of an imbalance of power between the parties,
usually in favour of the employer, and produces agreements more likely to create flexibility as opposed
to security.
Typically during crises, typical ‘distributive’ bargaining (where one party’s success comes at the other’s
expense) evolves into what is termed ‘integrative’ or ‘concession’ bargaining where outcomes on issues
such as short-time working arrangements, which help reduce labour costs but, when accompanied by
training measures, also help individuals maintain their skills and employment, and future employability.
Research elsewhere illustrates the risk associated with a long-term shift in the balance between
flexibility and employment, especially when employers seem to prefer recruiting workers on temporary
or fixed term rather permanent contracts and the current crisis and the behaviour by finance companies
could be seen as catalysts for a significant shift from employment security to employee flexibility,
possibly undermining the long-term sustainability of social dialogue.
A number of factors have determined the degree to which member states were affected by the financial
crisis, including the country’s level of economic growth prior to the crisis, the relative distribution
between trade and services in the economy and the extent to which these provided growth and
employment. For example the construction sector provided a significant share of economic growth in
both Ireland and Spain and yet it was this sector that led to a collapse of a regional economy in the
former and a recession in the latter. Due to its central role before and during the crisis, member states
with a disproportionate dependency on finance for growth have felt the impact to a greater degree than
[21]

others and this is evident from the impact of the sector in the UK and in Italy where there have been
significant job losses in the sector and critical levels of debt in both the public and private sectors.
In 2010 the European finance sector employed more than 3.5 million, in almost 7,000 banks, across a
network of 215,000 branches. Deregulation of the sector has taken place at varying speeds and to
varying extent across Europe. Certain countries have been particularly exposed to the crisis and have
been disproportionately affected by the crisis in the banking sector. In this area alone, job losses from
2008 to 2010 totalled 250,000 and the bulk of these losses taking place in the UK (187,000) and Italy
(30,000). 13
The process of collective bargaining varies widely across Europe and are frequently categorised in
terms of the level at which negotiations take place, the extent of state involvement and the degree to
which social dialogue is institutionalised within the employment relationship. For example, in both the
banking and insurance sectors only Cyprus has a tripartite body used to settle disputes or to clarify the
meanings of clauses contained in the collective agreement.
Collective bargaining in the UK is highly decentralised and such negotiations within the finance sector
are no exception. All components of the employment contract, including areas such as equality,
appraisal, flexible working, recruitment, disciplinary and performance systems are negotiated at this
level. However, the sector does differ from most other in terms of the number of separate bargaining
units within individual finance companies. The terms and conditions of managers, staff, contact centre
workers, insurance staff and sales people are determined by separate negotiating machinery, even
within an individual bank or insurance company. A major trend for wage determination has been the
move towards performance related pay, away from collective pay determination, the removal of
guaranteed pension schemes, preferential banking terms for staff and the end to the standard working
day. Negotiations for collective wage increases in the banking sector in Croatia and Malta are
undertaken exclusively at the company level, and in Israel wages are negotiated at the national
company level.
The Hungarian finance sector mirrors elements of the UK system – there is no national or sectoral
negotiations and everything is negotiated at the company level. However, a new piece of legislation,
introduced in July 2012, is expected to significantly change the system. In the insurance sector
13
“Recession and social dialogue in the banking sector: a global perspective”, Soriano. C, for Eurofound (2011)
[22]

Hungary is the only country in which they take place at company level. The key issue for these
negotiations is wage levels, but still important are issues such as notice periods and compensation for
dismissal. The impact of the financial crisis has driven employers to reduce terms and conditions and
today, according to the questionnaire respondent, most of the terms and conditions for finance workers
are worse than before the crisis struck.
Contrary to the system of bargaining in the UK, negotiations between trade unions and employers in
the banking sector in Italy take place at two levels – at the sector level and at company or group level.
In addition small, local, cooperatives and rural banks will often negotiate with unions at a regional level.
Sector level negotiations set the terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, type of contract,
hours and days of work, while those at the company or group level often conclude agreements over
productivity related pay and health and retirement schemes. Mergers and acquisitions in the banking
sector are changing the nature of collective bargaining, and trade unions are now negotiating at the
group level to ensure the negative effects are mitigated and other challenges faced by workers and
brought about by M&A activity. The main issues within the scope of national level negotiations include
minimum wages, professional salaries, seniority salary, job evaluation, employee rights and duties,
rules concerning mobility, basic training, holidays, sicknes absense, overtime and rules on
redundancies.
The number of employer and employee representative bodies can also affect the process of collective
bargaining. In Cyprus, for example, workers in the finance sector are represented by a single trade
union and in the banking sector all employers belong to a single employer association making
negotiations far simply and manageable. However the negotiations within the country’s insurance
sector take place at the company level, precisely because insurance companies are not members of an
employer body. This then means the trade union ETYK must, as is the case for Unite the union in the
UK, negotiate with insurance companies on an individual basis, draining union resources and
undermining collectivism. All employees of the finance sector (Bank and Insurance) are represented by
ETYK, an independent and autonomous Union with a density rate that approaches 100%. On the
employers side in the banking sector we have the Cyprus Bankers Employers' Association (KEST) that
covers almost all the banks. This is not the case in the insurance sector where each company
represents itself. This is the reason that we have Sectoral level negotiations for the banking industry,
between ETYK and KEST and company level negotiations for the insurance industry, between ETYK
and each insurance company separately. However, the agreement in the banking industry, between
ETYK and the Cyprus Bankers Employers’ Association (KEST), although only covering 90 per cent of
[23]

the workforce in the banking sector, is so well regarded that non-KEST member employers also tends
to adhere to its contents.
In contrast to these models, employment relations in Denmark’s finance sector are governed by
separate two-year collective agreements – for banking and insurance. These agreements cover all
workers in the sectors and, in a similar way to the Italian system, under specific and controlled
conditions, locally unions and employers can modify the provisions of the national agreements.
Although the wage levels set out in the agreements do not constitute a minimum wage, they are viewed
as the standard pay for the industry but include a built-in graduation scale for progression. Agreements
contain provisions on severance pay, overtime rates, pension contributions, life and health insurance,
health and safety issues, vocational training, holidays, sick leave, rules on employment contracts, part
time working (including for parents of children less than 12 years of age), temporary agency workers,
maternity and paternity leave, caring for dependants, seniority and dispute resolution.
One of the finance sector’s national agreements was recently renewed for a further two year period and
has radically altered terms and conditions of employment. For example, the new agreement introduces
new rules governing working hours, flexibility and the introduction of a time bank – allowing workers the
freedom to accumulate credits by working longer hours when needed and then organise their time off
work as a consequence. The union in Denmark has also negotiated stronger provisions to protect
workers facing dismissal due to redundancy, including an improved severance package and
outplacement programmes to support them back into employment elsewhere.
In France there are three levels of negotiations – cross sectoral, sector and company level – but over
time the company level is becoming more important as collective bargaining continues to be
decentralised. Collective agreements cover issues such as training, salaries, occupation differentials
and stress and harassment.
The situation in the Spanish finance sector differs again from the previous countries. In Spain
negotiations for savings banks, retail banks and insurance companies all take place at the national
level. These agreements establish industry minimums, but since the onset of the crisis and the
subsequent intervention by the state, certain business conventions take precedent over sector
agreements. Spanish unions negotiate agreements for the finance sector and for the so-called savings
banks and, given the current economic climate, the key issue for the trade unions is safeguarding
employment. Within the current climate, discussions over wages have been less of a priority for the
[24]

unions and issues such as working time, occupational classifications and pensions have become a
priority. At the time of writing, unions representing workers employed by insurance companies had just
begun their negotiations and were adopting a similar position and focusing on maintaining social
benefits.
Redundancies
Given the difficult economic situation across Europe, it is unsurprising to hear reports of large scale
redundancies across the finance sector, and there is a clear correlation between the relative size of a
country’s finance sector and the negative impact of the crisis on employment, as the graph 14 below
indicates.
Research by Unite the union suggests that around 130,000 workers have been dismissed since the
onset f the crisis in 2008 and the number of redundancies continues to grow. Throughout this period,
the union has worked with employers to introduce better information and consultation processes.
The two tables below, taken from Eurofound 15 , show the number of redundancies and jobs created for
all sectors across Europe since the beginning of 2008. Although the highest share of job losses have
occurred in the manufacturing sector, taking into account the number of manufacturing jobs that have
also been created shows that the number of new jobs represents almost 40 per cent of job losses. If
the same calculation is made for the finance sector, the number of new jobs created in the same period
is less than 20 per cent of those lost, illustrating the devastating effect of the crisis on finance workers.
14 Source: EU KLEMS database. UK Basic 2012
15 The tables were taken from the website of the European Monitoring Centre on Change, part of the European
Observatory (Eurofound) and can be found at http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/index.htm
[25]

Table 2: Job losses and new jobs per sector in Europe
Sector Job losses % of total New jobs % of total
Manufacturing 907,394 36.81% 357,357 32.63%
Retail 179,538 7.28% 228,741 20.89%
Information and communication 177,256 7.19% 87,366 7.98%
Financial services 279,275 11.33% 55,055 5.03%
Transportation and storage 232,750 9.44% 92,750 8.47%
Public administration and defence 411,087 16.67% 34,149 3.12%
Construction 62,291 2.53% 13,860 1.27%
Administrative services 31,609 1.28% 33,275 3.04%
Professional services 15,144 0.61% 46,714 4.27%
Utilities 46,477 1.89% 30,525 2.79%
Hotel and restaurants 6,888 0.28% 51,677 4.72%
Health and social work 30,477 1.24% 10,916 1.00%
Mining and quarrying 30,754 1.25% 37,813 3.45%
Education 38,158 1.55% 4,385 0.40%
Arts and entertainment 4,243 0.17% 3,350 0.31%
Agriculture 7,626 0.31% 690 0.06%
Real estate 2,901 0.12% 5,350 0.49%
Other services 1,424 0.06% 1,116 0.10%
Total 2,465,292 100% 1,095,089 100.00%
While the above table illustrates the relative number of job losses across Europe per sector, and shows
that the finance sector suffered the third highest number of losses since the onset of the crisis, the table
below highlights the exposure of member states to these losses by virtue of their over dependence on
the sector to provide employment and growth.
Table 3: Job losses and gains in finance per country (as % of total) in Europe
Country Job losses % of total New Jobs % of total
United Kingdom 88,690 31.76% 10,116 18.37%
Poland 17,935 6.42% 12,970 23.56%
Ireland 9,123 3.27% 3,407 6.19%
Germany 35,953 12.87% 1,050 1.91%
Italy 36,446 13.05% 4,500 8.17%
France 14,527 5.20% 12,555 22.80%
Netherlands 23,484 8.41% 0.00%
Spain 19,484 6.98% 1,600 2.91%
Czech Republic 2,974 1.06% 1,862 3.38%
Belgium 6,511 2.33% 650 1.18%
Romania 2,320 0.83% 3,620 6.58%
Denmark 2,973 1.06% 0.00%
Lithuania 1,048 0.38% 1,460 2.65%
Austria 2,940 1.05% 100 0.18%
Hungary 2,037 0.73% 150 0.27%
[26]

Greece 3,416 1.22% 161 0.29%
Sweden 1,560 0.56% 120 0.22%
Portugal 2,700 0.97% 120 0.22%
Finland 1,658 0.59% 0.00%
Slovenia 538 0.19% 254 0.46%
Luxembourg 534 0.19% 0.00%
Norway 350 0.13% 160 0.29%
Latvia 1,189 0.43% 0.00%
Slovakia 700 0.25% 0.00%
Cyprus 185 0.07% 0.00%
Bulgaria 0.00% 200 0.36%
Total 279,275 100% 55,055 100%
Table 3 illustrates the degree to which large sections of the workforce can be exposed to fierce market
forces when a country places its faith for economic growth on a specific sector. Particularly noteworthy
are the figures for the United Kingdom and Italy, whose investment in the growth of the finance sector
serves to underline the potential difficulties that can be faced by workers and their society should this
sector become unstable and suffer a severe economic shock. A similar fate was experienced by
Ireland and the Spanish region of Andalusia, which both relied, to a relatively high degree, on the
construction sector to provide growth. In both cases this strategy heavily contributed to the collapse of
the sector and the economy generally 16 .
Remedies to boost job creation and counter the instability in employment created by the crisis have
been negotiated in the sector, as the example in the box below from Italy shows.
Supporting workers through collective bargaining in Italy - Collective Worker’s Fund
The Italian finance sector has been central to the country’s policies on economic growth in recent years,
as was the case in the UK. But this level of reliance on the sector for generating growth produces an
inherent weakness in the event of a serious financial crisis.
Prior to the current crisis, employment within the Italian finance sector stood at over 320,000. Since
1998, more than 30,000 finance workers have lost their jobs (accounting for more than 13% of the total
number of jobs lost in the European finance sector). These losses, while in part a consequence of the
privatisation of a number of public financial institutions, are in the main due to the responses by finance
employers to the impact of the crisis.
16 “Social Dialogue in times of Crisis”, Guyet, R. and Tarren, D. Eurofound (2012)
[27]

As a result of a pre-existing collective agreement, dating back to 1999, the Italian finance trade unions
were able to create a nationally managed early retirement fund, to avoid compulsory redundancies.
The scheme is funded by finance sector employers and allows those workers facing redundancy, and
who agree to take early retirement, to be provided with financial support or continuous training for
those who intend to work elsewhere.
However a new agreement signed in 2012 has added to the innovative approach by the unions and
banking employers. Among a number of other provisions, the five-year collective agreement between
the finance unions and the Italian Banking Association aims to reduce the number of workers
employed on temporary contracts by permitting financial institutions to recruit workers on open-ended
contracts only. This will ensure the sector has a flow of new entrants every year, safeguarding its
long-term sustainability, a by-product of which ought to be new workers who view the sector as a
long-term career and one that provides job security and has a long-term interest in its workforce.
According to initial estimates from the Italian Banking Association, 6,500 workers will be recruited
annually for the first four years of the agreement.
This provision within the agreement is financed by contributions from bank employees and by
management by changing the number of bank holidays in the sector. Employees will contribute a
day’s pay and managers 4% of their salary. Additional funding will come from lower wages for those
recruited - according to the agreement those workers recruited on permanent, open ended, contracts,
will be paid 18% less than workers in their post do at present.
The reports from affiliates in the UK and in Italy are contrasted by those from Cyprus, where there
have reportedly been no redundancies in the finance sector since 2007. 17 This has partly been
achieved through freezing the recruitment of new employees – so as workers retire they are not being
replaced. The table below, provided by the ETYK trade union, shows the changes in employment in
the banking sector during the crisis, which the affiliate states is due to new entrants in the sector, such
as Eurobank and Pireaus Bank.
17 This information was given by a representative of ETYK prior to the April 2012 project workshop held in
London.
[28]

As with all other European countries, the crisis in the Eurozone and the deep economic problems in
Cyprus and the consequences of the Greek economy have ensured that employment is the priority for
trade unions and ETYK have focused on safeguarding jobs. The union, through its high membership
density, has to a certain extent been able to protect its members from the full impact of the crisis and,
according to the information provided by the union, the only workers to become jobless have retiring.
According to the Danish finance employer’s organisation, employment in the sector had dropped by 3.5
per cent by 2011 and, by the end of 2012, the sector’s workforce is predicted to be 4.5 per cent smaller
than it was prior to the crisis, suggesting that over 5,000 finance jobs have been lost since 2008.
However, figures from the affiliate, based on the number of registrations to the unemployment
insurance fund, suggest job losses have not exceeded 3,500. With the employer’s organisation, the
Financial Services Union in Denmark has developed an initiative to support workers facing redundancy
from the point at which they are advised of the situation, through their dismissal and subsequent new
employment. Affected workers are offered education and training and career counseling throughout the
redundancy process. In the French finance sector, the FO states that employment in the sector has
contracted by 1 per cent during the crisis, but where banks are still generating profits these
redundancies have been heavily criticised by the unions. In Spain, the insurance sector has seen no
job losses whatsoever since 2007, and instead the sector has seen employment rise. On the contrary,
savings banks have seen large losses in employment through restructuring and mergers and since
2007 the affiliated union estimates a total of 11,000 redundancies in the sector. The union and
employers have worked together to try to limit the trauma of redundancy by attempting to limit job
losses to those workers voluntarily exiting or seeking early retirement.
[29]

Key challenges facing finance workers
When finance union representatives were questioned about the concerns of their members, their
responses reflected the existing social and economic context within their country at the time and must
therefore be considered in this context. For example, Unite the union in the stated that the most
significant challenge facing finance workers is redundancies and this is obvious given that the UK has
seen the greatest number of job losses than anywhere else in Europe. The Danish finance union
considered higher wages and higher pension contributions to be the priorities for finance workers,
reflecting the country’s regulated labour market and the associated confidence felt by workers about
losing their jobs. However, it is still of value to examine the responses from finance unions when asked
“what are the key challenges facing workers and their representatives in the finance sector in your
country in recent years?” According to an analysis of the responses the biggest challenges for workers
in the finance sector are pay levels, performance management systems and then redundancies. It is
possible, through anecdotal evidence, to validate this perception which is borne from information and
experiences from affiliates on the increase in the incidences of unpaid overtime, work intensification,
the increased pressure on workers to achieve targets and the practice of dismissing under-performing
employees. In 2011, Unite the union carried out its own survey on unpaid overtime and discovered that
finance workers employed by HSBC carry out an average of 5 hours of unpaid overtime every week.
The union’s calculations suggest that this amounts to a saving for the bank’s payroll costs of £39 million
in the preceding 12 months. Employment in the sector is clearly becoming ever more precarious, and
this is compounded by the increased use of students and temporary workers.
One consistent message from all affiliates was the concern among finance workers that their future is
uncertain and that the sector is failing to offer younger people and new entrants a decent career, and
that their fears were not only personal but they feared also for the reputation of the sector as a whole
and the confidence of consumers, in terms of the consumer trust. Many affiliates expressed their
concern that unless the sector rebuilds its relationship with its workforce and their representatives, there
will be a lack of interest from younger workers and graduates in the sector as a career. This negative
perception could damage the image of the sector, its future growth and, ultimately entire economies.
European social dialogue
Affiliates were asked their opinion on the effectiveness of social dialogue at the European level and, if
positive, their view on the potential for strengthening the cooperation between employers and trade
unions. The majority of responses to this question were positive; however there is an overwhelming
feeling amongst finance unions that European social dialogue could be improved considerably.
[30]

Finance unions appear to value to prospect of working with employer organisations to jointly lobby the
European institutions on common issues, such as labour market regulation. Support for the work of the
Social Dialogue Committee as expressed in a number of responses, but so too was frustration by
affiliates of the absence of ambition by the Committee and of the untapped potential this group can
offer the sector to the mutual benefit of both employers and workers.
Role of European Works Councils
The presentation made by Syndex also highlighted to crucial role of European Works Councils (EWCs)
in supporting and strengthening collective bargaining across the sector. The recast Directive (2009/38)
substantially improves the rights of workers in Europe that are employed by multinational companies to
be informed and consulted over transnational issues. Delegates heard how the HSBC EWC had
recently terminated the Article 13 agreement, based on UK law, and the hostile response by the
company. There are now over 60 EWCs within the finance sector which presents opportunities for
members to cooperate and share their knowledge and experiences to further their collective power to
defend terms and conditions and to promote decent employment practices across the sector.
In addition, a number of affiliates expressed their wish for greater cooperation and coordination
between finance trade unions and this demand was raised and debated within the project conference,
with all delegates expressing their support for an annual collective bargaining survey, overseen by UNI
Europa finance. Accordingly, a number of responses emphasised the positive role of European Works
Councils in creating better coordination among workers and unions. It seems that influencing
management decisions and creating a consensus among European workers is of significant importance
to finance unions.
An agreement between French trade unions and the bank BNP Paribas provides for a overarching
framework for the anticipation of change in the company. The agreement sets out the various levels of
engagement and the operational responsibilities of each, promoting social dialogue as the mechanism
through which change and the necessary anticipatory measures must be discussed. The table below
provides further information on the agreement.
[31]

Figure 4: Collective Bargaining and Anticipating Change - BNP Paribas
In July 2012, the French banking group BNP Paribas concluded a European Framework Agreement
with trade unions to, among other things, enhance social dialogue and strengthen joint efforts to
anticipate change. This initiative highlights the important role the European Works Councils can play
in creating a platform for employee engagement and strengthening coordination between workers
across Europe.
In the past three years, the EWC has established working groups on employment, equal opportunities
and psychosocial risks and this latest initiative places employment and the management of change at
the centre of social dialogue.
The anticipatory elements of the agreement state that workers will be regularly informed of the
company’s strategy and its likely impact on that country or even region. The working group will then
examine the strategy and report on the necessary changes and the possible and foreseeable impact of
these changes, including the impact of the changes on employees.
Another section of the agreement sets out how the restructuring will be managed and of the
information and consultation process involved. The agreement also sets out the various processes
and initiatives available to mitigate the negative effects of restructuring – such as the possibility that
‘the redundancy plan could provide for support measures aiming to promote retention of employees or
their return to work, such as, for example, outplacements or financial support for training’. The
implementation and monitoring of the agreement will be undertaken on an annual basis by the EWC
steering committee, and will involve trade union representatives.
The impact of the crisis – evidence from affiliates
According to the responses to the questionnaires, the crisis has had a profound effect on wages and
the working conditions of workers in the finance sector. Regular reference was made to the
intensification of work, particularly reports of workers coming under greater pressure to sell financial
products. Increases in the intensification of work were deemed by unions as a key contributory factor in
the high levels of stress amongst finance workers, and is supported by recent research published by
Eurofound. 18 The research showed that the finance in Germany, for example, has the third highest
prevalence of workplace stress, after hotels, restaurants and healthcare. The report also found that
although workers in the sector appear to enjoy “better than the average in terms of work-related
18 “Social dialogue and working conditions”, Oxford Research for Eurofound (2011)
[32]

injuries” 19 , the working conditions of finance employees means they are exposed to higher than
average levels of stress. In addition, due to the nature of many finance sector jobs, such as long
periods of computer usage, workers often suffer physical problems which can increase the chances of
suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (in the finance sector these are usually take the form of neck
or upper back problems). Overall, unions cited a greater pressure on workers to achieve targets, an
increased propensity for employers to dismiss for under performance and, overall, workers in the sector
were expected to carry out more work within the same amount of time.
The comments expressed by finance union representatives, through both the questionnaires and their
discussions at the conference, extended beyond the impact of current employer strategies on
workplace employment relations. A significant number of the comments from unions were highly critical
of the choices made by banks and insurance companies to exit the poorer, rural areas which are
generally populated by older people. In the past two decades there has been a clear retrenchment and
branches that serve rural areas have faced closure.
Insecurity – a new model of employment ?
The pre-existing tendency for employers to weaken or undermine social dialogue has been
compounded by the effect of the crisis and has, according to unions, created a precarious and unstable
workforce that is unable, as a result of this insecurity and instability, to seek employment within the
sector as a career move and one that is fulfilling and offers decent opportunities for further personal
development. Instead the rapacious opportunism of employers, described as such by the
overwhelming number of union representatives, has created a new dynamic within the employment
relationship. The unchecked growth of employer control has created an employment relationship
based on such an asymmetry of power that one respondent described workers as “rubber band
employees”. Employees were referred to in this way due to the fact that they “have unlimited
obligations, limited prospects and no rights”, as opposed to their employer who has “unlimited power,
no social responsibility or obligations”. Although expressed by a solitary respondent this statement and
description creates a powerful image of a sector that, far from modernising, appears to be blissfully
unaware of its social obligations - both to society and those that produce its wealth.
In addition to their comments contained in the questionnaires, delegates spoke, and were interviewed,
at the conference itself. In their presentations, and discussions, they repeatedly stated their concerns
19 Readers of the report are referred to data contained in the ‘Health and safety at work’ database from
Eurostat.
[33]

about the sustainability of this emerging model for employment. Phrases such as “there is an even
higher pressure [on workers] to achieve targets; a “willingness of employers to dismiss for
underperformance”; the prevalence of “unpaid overtime” 20 ; and the loss of guaranteed pensions.
Finance workers have stressed the increase in precariousness of employment in the sector, referencing
the move away from employing permanent workers to strategic decisions to employ students.
Quantitative issues
Companies and employer organisations have become tougher when it comes to negotiations, and are
using the fear of the crisis as a tool for lowering employee expectations. Generally speaking the
dominant level for collective agreements in the finance sector on wages is at the company level.
However a number of countries use a range of company, group and sectoral for some elements of
wages – variable pay for example may top up a sector agreed figure but this will be agreed at company
level. Germany and Italy are two good examples.
Holding wages at the level from the previous year (wage freeze) was a popular measure used by
employers. For new agreements, in the banking sector, wages in 2012 kept pace with inflation in
55.5% of cases (5 from 9), whereas the figure was 75% in the insurance sector. Although wage
increases were agreed in eight pre-2012 agreements, none of the increases were at the level of
inflation or higher. In only just over a third (37.5%) of cases are wage increases linked to company
performance or productivity within the banking sector, whereas this figure rises to 50% for the insurance
sector.
Respondents argued that, since the onset of the crisis and despite good profits, wages in the sector
have increased by relatively little, and this is supported by research showing that for the period 2008 to
2010, wages for finance workers have indeed risen slower than wages elsewhere - workers in
manufacturing, construction and the business economy generally gained a average of 4.5 per cent,
whereas the figure for those working in finance was 3.7 per cent. It is clear from the questionnaire, that
unions are currently unable to maintain wage increases in line with inflation – something all responses
to this question stated.
20 In 2011, Unite the union surveyed its members within HSBC, the findings of which stated that employees of
the bank work an average of five hours unpaid overtime a week. The union claimed this amounted to £39
million in the previous year. (HSBC Newsletter November 2011)
[34]

Qualitative issues.
In 2011, there were significant additional texts in new agreements in Denmark, Malta and Italy.
Across banking and insurance, and according to the replies to the questionnaire, only workers in the
Finnish insurance sector have seen changes to their working time. Systems of annualised hours are
currently used in the banking sector in Denmark and, according to respondents, in Italy under special
circumstances. In the insurance sector only employees in Hungary are subject to this type of approach
of measuring working time. However this type of system is often used in call centres in the UK,
according to the response to the questionnaire. Average working time for finance employees is eight
hours per day, excluding flexitime and overtime. In some countries, such as Italy and Denmark, this
issue is regulated by the sector collective agreement and in others, notably the UK workers must rely
on European legislation in the form of the Working Time Directive. Only in Austria does the collective
agreement stipulate a maximum working day (10 hours). In Italy, the new collective agreement permits
(but doesn’t compel) Banks to open from 0800 to 2000, which means employees work for 7.5 hours a
day and are required to take a break of one hour. However, this derogation is only possible through
agreement with the union. Denmark and Italy are the only EU27 countries in which banking sector
employees can work annualised hours. In the UK, this practice is common in call centres but is a
feature of the employment relations system than a collective agreement.
Variable Pay
A small number of affiliates, Croatia and Malta, stated that variable pay had increased in the new
agreement as a percentage of the total pay packet. This was the same for increases in pension
contributions – In Italy, for example, the new agreement includes specific provisions for young workers
and, under specific circumstances, bank workers in Malta benefit from provisions on pensions.
Shares for employees
It appears from the questionnaire responses that shares are more widely held by individual workers in
the banking sector than in insurance. Where they are held by workers, they are not generally used as a
tool to influence management decisions, and the only example of this approach is in HSBC in the UK,
where workers used their shareholdings to attend the company’s AGM in an attempt to lobby investors
and other shareholders over job losses and pay. However, overall, there is little evidence that finance
unions are able to utilise their collective agreement to influence company decisions over outsourcing.
[35]

Informing UNI and affiliates
Only one trade union, FISAC in Italy, informed other UNI EF affiliates prior to negotiations taking place
and only one, FABI again from Italy, informed the federation directly.
Unions organising to resist
The actions by employers, described in this report, have not been simply ignored by the finance
workforce. On the contrary, a significant majority of respondents to the survey stated that strike action
had taken place in the sector in the preceding 12 months, possibly indicating further unrest and action
by finance workers in 2013. The large number of UNI Europa finance affiliates that participated in
strike action since the onset of the crisis did so, on the whole, over wages. A number of affiliates
highlighted the role of cross border solidarity among workers and stated that EWCs were the most
appropriate, but not only, vehicle for this. When asked about potential methods for resisting the
imposition of changes to their working lives, a number of affiliates stated they had held work meetings,
public meetings, had distributed leaflets and posters to workers and customers. A number of affiliates
said that they had written articles for major newspapers, carried out interviews with union leaders for
local newsletters and produced content for a website – either company or union managed or, in the
case of one group of workers actions to prevent new working conditions, establishing a new website,
not affiliated to their union, with the objective of exchanging information and data on policies, good
practice and general coordination of support among workers.
Other affiliates highlighted the success of using spontaneous walkouts, attending AGMs and holding a
rally each year, organising collective refusals to accept imposed contractual changes, protests in
parliaments and government offices and complaining to ministers, political parties and other social
partners.
[36]

Over the past 12 months there have been a number of instances of conflict between UNI EF affiliates
and finance employers, some of which are worth repeating here as they demonstrate positive outcomes
from what might have seemed an unwinnable situation. “In 2011, FSU [finance union in Denmark]
gave notice to the employer association, but the dispute was settled before a strike needed to take
place. This type of notice is often a ‘weapon’ in itself, since it shows that the trade union is willing to
back its demands by conflict.” In Finland, the union for insurance workers issued an “overtime ban in
order to bring [the employers] to the negotiating table … after the overtime ban had been in force for a
few weeks [the employers] returned to the negotiating table.”
There is enormous pressure from finance employers for cost reductions and to undermine employee
benefits and the affiliate from Cyprus highlighted this is their response to the pre-conference workshop:
“Banks are continually putting pressure for diversifying current bank employee salaries, specifically
reducing the fixed salary and introducing a new hybrid system of salary and bonus. Despite these
difficult circumstances our organization managed to keep the salaries based on fixed parameters
governed by the Collective Agreements signed between ETYK and KEST.”
[37]

Conclusions
As finance workers continue to face real pressure from banks and insurance companies in their drive to
cut costs, finance trade unions are being truly tested on their ability to resist these attacks on their
members’ terms and conditions within a deteriorating economic climate. There are many reports of
where finance workers have been successful in their efforts, but many more in which workers are
accepting reduced pension contributions, longer working hours and a general degradation of their
employment rights. It is clear that organising and creating a workforce which, not only supports the role
of the union, but is prepared to act when necessary, is paramount prior to opposing proposals from
employers. However, the collection, analyses and dissemination of bargaining outcomes, employment
trends and employer strategies from EU27 finance unions will generate valuable long term benefits and
produce cohesion between workers and their unions so essential for engineering cross border solidarity
- the cornerstone of the future of trade unionism.
It is clear that UNI EF affiliates support the idea of an annual assessment of collective bargaining
outcomes across the sector and, throughout discussions at the conference, affiliates expressed their
intent to build on this initial research annually.
From the clear commitment among finance trade union representatives, preparations for the 2013
Annual Review should begin in the coming months and the financing of such work needs careful
consideration.
[38]

Recommendations
This is the very first time that data has been collected from UNI EF affiliates, in terms of the current
state of play in the finance sector in member states and represents a benchmark for future research
and analyses. The objectives of this project were to create a mechanism for the annual collection of
data from UNI EF affiliates and an analysis of the outcomes. This analysis, it was hoped, would enable
greater cooperation between finance unions, and an increase in the capacity of unions to coordinate
action, bargaining demands and their overall cohesion.
Further annual assessments of the outcomes from collective bargaining in the sector ought to include
analyses on both the qualitative as well as the quantitative outcomes. Data on all elements of the
demands made by worker representatives is essential if trade unions are to improve the level of
coordination and understanding across Europe.
The recommendations below largely relate to the content of information sought in the future, the actual
process of collecting the data and the process of coordinating the demands of unions across the sector.
1. Consideration ought to be given to the type of data collected from affiliates. This project sought
to create an initial examination of the state of play in the sector and general trends but future
analyses must focus on specific data and clearly request this from affiliates.
2. Our research sought to examine the outcomes of bargaining in 2012 and affiliates were asked
to complete the questionnaire before the summer. Discussions among affiliates should
consider the point at which unions are requested to provide information, given the timing of
their negotiations.
3. It is clear, from the discussions at the conference and in the London Declaration (Annex A) that
UNI EF affiliates support an annual appraisal of the outcomes from collective bargaining in the
sector. It is essential that UNI EF coordinates the distribution and collection of the
questionnaires and this will help to ensure a sufficient number of affiliates respond each year.
4. UNI EF affiliates ought to consider establishing a bargaining target for wage increases in the
sector. Graphical sector trade unions, affiliated to UNI Europa Graphical, have agreed a
formula based on inflation and productivity. Such a formula would be useful in measuring the
[39]

success, or otherwise, of affiliates to gain a real wage increase for their members and provides
a benchmark for wages that can be compared year in year.
5. Ownership of the data should be considered as the information collected needs to be managed
and kept up to date. Whether this is the responsibility of UNI EF or an individual affiliate will be
the subject of internal discussions.
[40]

ANNEX A
The London Declaration
At the conference delegates expressed their overwhelming support for a declaration to make clear their
desire to commit to an annual review of collective bargaining and to highlight their frustration at current
employer practices that will undermine collective bargaining and the finance sector as an employer and
as a career. The declaration is reproduced in its entirety below.
From 15 to 17 October 2012, some sixty trade union representatives from the European finance sector,
from countries who face very different economic situations, gathered in London to discuss the impact of
the crisis on collective bargaining and the continued attempts by employers to exploit the insecurity of
finance workers by sacking hundreds of thousands of workers, intensifying work and reducing terms
and conditions of employment for those who remain in the companies.
Over the past few years the sector has witnessed huge job losses at the same time as finance
companies have been reporting large profits. Faced with this challenge, the role of the European trade
union movement is to stand firm and resist the erosion of employment conditions of finance workers, to
be properly informed and consulted and to hold to account those employers dismissing workers to cut
costs.
Colleagues who remain employed face increased pressure and stress at the workplace; working hours
are less and less respected as employees are being subjected to unrealistic target demands.
Examples from multinational companies (e.g. AXA) or national level social partner agreements (as for
example in Italy) show the constructive role which trade unions can and must play in negotiating new
terms and conditions which need to be respected wherever restructuring is taking place.
Conference agreed on the following priorities to be fought for by trade unions all over Europe:
Stop unjustified mass redundancies among Finance workers: Stop attempts by employers to
cut staff while making billions of profit
Engage in creative solutions, for example through solidarity funds, to keep the knowledge of
experienced workers in the companies as well as giving young workers real chances
Strengthen and encourage the trade union movement, especially in CEE countries, and
encourage young workers to engage in trade union action
Good redundancy packages are not the only solution as they do not always stop redundancies:
Jointly examine best practice for compensations for job loss
Through stronger EWCs develop a trade union vision within the different companies of how to
deal with restructuring
Working together to provide the leadership that our members need to address these issues
UNI Europa Finance affiliates present at this conference are committed to continue collective
bargaining coordination by holding annual meetings like this and producing an annual survey
They are committed to defend and monitor collective bargaining
UNI Europa Finance affiliates will coordinate to cease job cuts and the erosion of our terms and
conditions of employment through coordinated collective action, including campaigning and
organising.
[41]

Annex B
Number of people employed in banks by country
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
AU 75,303 76,323 77,731 78,754 77,246 78,098 78,085
BE 69,481 67,957 67,080 65,985 63,723 61,861 61,197
BU 23,636 25,633 30,953 33,258 34,290 34,133 33,897
CY 10,799 10,845 11,286 12,554 12,513 12,643 12,825
CZ 37,943 37,825 40,037 39,882 38,394 38,359 39,461
DK 47,579 46,394 49,644 52,830 50,101 47,739 47,224
ES 5,029 5,681 6,319 6,144 5,693 5,497 5,516
FI 23,644 24,769 25,025 25,699 24,879 23,353 22,653
FR 387,118 411,172 424,732 424,536 416,772 376,783 379,199
DE 705,000 692,500 691,300 685,550 673,500 667,900 663,800
GR 61,295 62,171 64,713 66,163 65,673 63,408 59,958
HU 37,527 39,302 41,905 43,620 42,609 41,526 41,305
IE 37,702 39,154 41,865 40,507 38,178 36,438 35,612
IT 335,726 339,091 340,443 338,035 323,407 321,081 315,979
LA 10,477 11,656 12,826 13,905 12,365 11,534 11,188
LI 7,637 8,624 10,303 11,080 10,902 9,993 8,707
LU 23,224 24,752 26,139 27,208 26,416 26,255 26,696
MA 3,383 3,450 3,670 3,872 3,833 3,914 4,026
NV 120,165 116,500 114,424 116,000 110,000 108,000 105,408
PO 158,130 162,125 173,955 188,969 183,064 184,858 186,331
PL 54,035 58,213 60,979 62,377 61,595 61,550 60,534
RO 52,452 58,536 66,039 71,622 67,898 66,753 65,772
SL 19,773 19,633 19,779 20,598 18,750 18,234 18,452
SI 11,726 11,838 12,051 12,284 12,188 11,995 11,813
ES 252,831 261,890 275,506 276,497 267,383 261,389 245,956
SW 44,943 47,069 48,457 50,115 49,256 49,799 49,784
UK 534,437 521,423 505,661 495,493 470,915 455,594 454,087
Source: EBF Banking Sector Statistics Database 2011 at www.ebf-fbe.eu/index.php?page=statistics
[42]

ANNEX C
The number of banks across Europe
Country 2009 2010 Country 2009 2010 Country 2009 2010
Belgium 102 105 Finland 325 313 United Kingdom 332 327
Germany 2121 2093 Portugal 43 37 Albania 16 16
Greece 66 62 Bulgaria 30 30 Andorra 5 5
Spain 352 337 Czech Republic 39 41 Armenia 22 21
Estonia 16 15 Denmark 149 123 Azerbaijan 46 44
France 313 305 Hungary 47 45 Bosnia&Herzegovina 30 30
Ireland 80 78 Iceland 4 4 Croatia 32 32
Italy 788 760 Latvia 29 31 FYR Macedonia 18 18
Cyprus 155 152 Liechtenstein 15 16 Moldova 15 15
Luxembourg 149 147 Lithuania 11 22 Monaco 37 35
Malta 19 23 Norway 148 145 Montenegro 11 11
Netherlands 93 86 Poland 643 646 Russia 1058 1058
Slovakia 26 29 Romania 42 42 Serbia 34 32
Slovenia 22 19 Sweden 117 114 Turkey 45 49
Austria 855 843 Switzerland 325 320 Ukraine 175 176
Location of Top Companies (Financial Services) by turnover and assets (in %)
Country
% of the Top 50 % of the Top 100
companies
companies
GB 32% 27%
FR 26% 19%
DE 14% 14%
NL 8% 8%
CH 6% 6%
ES 4% 6%
IT 4% 5%
DK 2% 1%
NO 2% 3%
SE 0% 3%
RU 0% 2%
FI 0% 1%
IE 0% 1%
Source - Adapted from the Orbis database
[43]

ANNEX D
Finance sector employment (000's) by sub-sector Q1 2012 for EU27
Country Finance Insurance Auxiliary^ Total
Austria 95.8 23.1 26.8 145.7
Belgium 79.3 32.0 54.4 165.7
Bulgaria 36.5 12.2 48.7
Cyprus 14.8 3.1 4.0 21.9
Czech Republic 65.4 31.0 33.1 129.5
Denmark 57.6 15.6 73.2
Estonia 8.3 8.3
Finland 34.5 11.0 7.1 52.6
France 539.2 166.1 131.1 836.4
Germany 739.0 237.3 336.4 1,312.7
Greece 79.9 15.6 23.1 118.6
Hungary 53.5 16.1 17.8 87.4
Ireland 62.6 19.3 7.9 89.8
Italy 417.6 106.3 125.1 649.0
Latvia 13.2 5.3 18.5
Lithuania 10.8 6.3 17.1
Luxembourg 21.5 3.7 2.4 27.6
Malta 5.9 5.9
Netherlands 122.4 65.3 31.2 218.9
Poland 284.1 76.4 48.8 409.3
Portugal 74.6 24.2 98.8
Romania 105.5 29.0 8.3 142.8
Slovakia 30.8 14.2 8.0 53.0
Slovenia 15.2 13.7 2.6 31.5
Spain 280.9 120.6 37.3 438.8
Sweden 53.7 24.0 15.9 93.6
United Kingdom 590.7 256.1 353.9 1,200.7
EU27 3,893.3 1,322.2 1,280.5 6,496.0
Finance sector employment (000's) for Croatia, Iceland Norway and Switzerland.
Finance Insurance Auxiliary^ Total
Croatia 21.3 9.1 30.4
Iceland 6.3 6.3
Norway 33.5 12.4 6.1 52.0
Switzerland 154.3 53.3 40.3 247.9
Notes:
^ Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities
NACE_R2
Finance: Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding
Insurance: Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security
Auxiliary: Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities
Source of data: Eurostat
[44]

ANNEX E
UNI Europa Graphical coordination of collective bargaining
Context
The Uni Europa Graphical (UEG) policy of the co-ordination of national level collective bargaining
within a European context began in 1999.
The policy is designed to achieve the same, or related outcomes, across separate negotiations in
different European countries.
The policy aims to:
- Prevent graphical employers from gaining a competitive advantage by exerting downward
pressure on the employment conditions of graphical workers
- Provide a counter weight to the graphical employers’ collective bargaining agenda
- Stimulate economic growth by ensuring real wage gains and/or improved employment security
for graphical workers.
Productivity Based Collective Bargaining
UEG’s co-ordinated collective bargaining policy centres on the distribution of productivity gains
between workers in the form of improved employment conditions and employers in the form of
enhanced profit levels.
The objective of the policy is for graphical unions in each European country to negotiate a
bargained wage increase equal to the sum of annual national level productivity increases plus
annual national inflation increases (known as quantitative aspect of the agreement).
The bargained wage increase can be below the sum of inflation plus productivity if a proportion
of productivity gain is used to finance employment creation measures such as reductions in
working time and training and re-training arrangements (the so-called qualitative aspects of the
agreement).
When the value of the negotiated increases in the qualitative aspects are added to the
quantitative aspects, the total value of the collective agreements may be equal to (or greater or
lesser than) the sum of inflation plus productivity.
It is for each individual graphical union to decide how it will attempt to allocate the sum of
inflation plus productivity between wage improvements and non wage improvements.
The Institutions
The outcome of the collective bargaining round in the graphical industry in each European
country is monitored by the Annual Collective Bargaining Survey based on a questionnaire
which has been administered on a consistent basis since the 2000 Survey.
UEG has data on the outcome of collective bargaining in the graphical sector on a common
basis for a period of eight years, namely 2000-2007 inclusive.
The major institutions developed by UEG to develop and monitor its co-ordinated collective
bargaining policy are its Collective Bargaining Committee and its Annual Collective Bargaining
Conference.
[45]

The Collective Bargaining Committee debates the common collective bargaining objectives and
recommends, if appropriate, to the Collective Bargaining Conference changes to the common
collective bargaining objectives.
The Annual Collective Bargaining Conference is attended by the chief negotiators of UEG
affiliates and approves the common collective bargaining objectives for the following year’s
annual collective bargaining round.
Guidelines
Guidelines for common collective bargaining objectives agreed at the 2007 collective bargaining
conference.
Provision of Information
a. Update regularly the Collective Bargaining Survey
b. Reporting of national agreements concluded to UNI-EG
c. Assessment of the bargaining results
d. Continuous monitoring
e. All affiliates are required to participate in the Annual Collective Bargaining Conference
Information and consultation of UNI-EG affiliates
Each UNI-EG affiliate commits itself to inform and consult the other UNI-EG affiliates on:
a. Its claims (before the opening of national collective bargaining)
b. The results / developments of on-going collective bargaining
The UNI-EG secretariat will coordinate the information and the consultation of its affiliates.
Social Dialogue
All affiliates are required to exert pressure on national employer organisations to engage in European
Social Dialogue / Collective bargaining.
Regional Collective Bargaining
Support for regional / sub regional collective bargaining Committee.
Guidelines for Bargaining Claim
Wages plus qualitative aspects (see below) should be at least equal to inflation plus national
productivity
The qualitative aspects include:
a) Working hours
Standard working time should not exceed 1,750 hours per year for a full time worker. The maximum
amount of paid overtime should not exceed 100 hours per year after which compensatory time off (at
bonus rates) arrangements should be encouraged as an alternative to paid overtime and to maximise
employment opportunities.
b) Further vocational training (FVT)
- Link between FVT, improvement of qualifications and wage increases
- Establishment of an annual plan for FVT
- Obligation on employers to inform each employee of the FVT plan
- Individual right of each employee to FVT
[46]

- Full union involvement in FVT
- Cost free for employees (except with union consent or by collective agreement)
- All time spent on FVT is working time (specifications could be made by agreement)
- Establishment of monitoring committees in companies
c) Training opportunities for older workers
- oppose all forms of direct or indirect age discrimination
- guarantee that older employees enjoy the same rights to training, post-education and further
education as all other employees. VET must be suitably adapted for all participants.
- Through the distribution of information and in debates, emphasise that older employees are an
important resource, and must be motivated to participate in training and further education.
- Ensure that employees, forced to leave active employment before reaching pensionable age due to
failing health or unavailability of work, are guaranteed financial security.
- Ensure that this policy will be an integral part of UNI-EG and its affiliates’ political agenda.
d) Equality
- Preparation of negotiating aims/guidelines with equality officers
- Equal pay audits to establish existing situations regarding pay
- Concrete steps to achieve equality of wages as stipulated in the European Treaty
- Family friendly policies for good work/life balance
e) Occupational pension schemes
When bargaining with employers affiliates should seek to achieve minimum standards of:
- employer’s contribution to the pension fund be twice that of the employee.
- max. length of employment in the industry to qualify for full pension be 40 years.
- final pension (as % of average pay) must be 50% of the three highest years of earnings.
- pension arrangements must be transferable between graphical employers
- pension funds be jointly managed by employee and employer representatives.
f) Health, safety and working environment
Transnational Companies
CBC will be asked to look at transnational company level co-ordination.
Transnational Solidarity Restructuring procedure
All UNI-Europa Graphical affiliates agree that should any request be received from any affiliate –
through the UNI-Europa Graphical secretariat – regarding restructuring in any multinational company, a
bi-lateral or multinational meeting to discuss the issue and agree and appropriate action will be
arranged within seven days of receiving the request.
[47]

ANNEX F
Resources and further reading
Social Dialogue
General
Banking
Insurance
Social Dialogue in banking
Financial crisis and workers
Financial crisis and social dialogue
Automotive sector agreement on anticipation of change
Policy documents
European Commission Europe 2020 strategy
New Skills for New Jobs
Trade Unions
UNI Finance
Unite the Union
Research
European Economic Forecast 2012
European Foundation
Statistics
Eurostat (European Commission statistics)
Growth and Productivity
European Central Bank
[48]