Last week in Wroclaw, NSZZ Solidarnosc in Eurobank (Poland) organised a workers’ meeting with the head of UNI Finance, Angelo Di Cristo, who is also responsible for social dialogue in Société Générale group, of which the Eurobank is part. A key objective of the meeting was to understand the overall view of the workers’ situation in Eurobank – especially in the view of the disturbing information about the breaches of union liberties. Trade union liberties are one of the fundamental rules in Global Framework Agreements signed by Société Générale group and trade unions in 2015.
At present, the union in Eurobank is under collective dispute. The union has several demands: the signing of the agreement with the bank on the Package of Workers’ Guarantees (which includes the rules on social provisions and union liberties), the creation of a pay grid (which currently does not exist), uniforms paid by the employer and a revision of wages since 2003 – as the bank has previously wrongly calculated workers’ wages, an act that was proven by Polish Labour Inspectorate.
Two dozen workers came to the meeting during their break and after working hours. The workers asked about the bank’s attitude towards the union demands and how UNI Finance could support them in Poland. They also enquired about their future situation relating to the potential sale of the bank, about which they read in the press. This particular issue has created unrest among the Eurobank workforce as it undermines the security of their employment. The Package of Workers’ Guarantees would act as a crucial security net in case of the sale of Eurobank, which is why it is a key demand.
The meeting with Angelo Di Cristo showed that UNI Finance has strong support for union activities in Poland, especially in relation to the enhancement of the quality of social dialogue in Eurobank, and will continue to work with Polish affiliates to fight for better working conditions.
You can read about the meeting in Polish here.
