Joint collective bargaining declaration in banking

Trade unions in the European banking sector issued in November 2004 a joint declaration on collective bargaining coordination and cooperation.

At a meeting held in Berlin on 10-11 November 2004, banking sector trade unions from six countries agreed a joint declaration on cooperation and coordination in their sector’s collective bargaining policy. The unions were: Centrale Nationale des Employés (Belgium); Landelijke Bedienden Centrale-NVK (Belgium); Fédération des Employés et Cadres (France); the Independent Federation of Italian Bank Workers (Federazione Autonoma Bancari Italiani, Fabi) (Italy); Federazione Italiana Bancari e Assicurativi (Italy); the Union of Salaried Employees (Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, GPA), (Austria); the Financial Sector Union of Sweden (Finansförbundet) (Sweden); and the Unified Service Sector Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) (Germany).

These unions have already established a collective bargaining network within the framework of the finance section of the global trade union UNI-Europa. This joint declaration builds on the development of this network, stating that the unions must work towards coordinating their bargaining policy in order to be able to continue to defend their members’ interests.

The declaration provides for the following main actions:

• annual meetings of lead negotiators from these unions will be held;

• the unions will share information on collective bargaining demands and will coordinate their collective bargaining strategies;

• trade union representatives will participate in collective bargaining committee meetings of other trade unions that have signed this declaration;

• key national collective bargaining provisions will be translated into English; and

• the unions pledge to support other unions in collective bargaining disputes.

The unions also state that they regard the meeting in Berlin as 'the prelude to more intensive collaboration on collective bargaining matters between the banking sector unions in Europe'. They also state their wish that other European trade unions within UNI Finance 'will join this network in the future with the aim of strengthening the role of UNI and of the national banking trade unions in Europe'.

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