Caixa Geral banking group trade union calls strike for December 30, 31

  • Lusa
  • 17 December 2021

The trade union representing employees of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) has called a strike for December 30 and 31 and a rally for noon on December 30.

The trade union representing employees of Portugal’s state-owned banking group, Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) has called a strike for December 30 and 31 and a rally for noon on December 30 near the bank’s Lisbon headquarters, it was announced on Friday.

An overtime strike is already underway in the group, called by the STEC on December 7 from midnight on December 12 to midnight on January 24.

In a statement released this Friday, the STEC union said that “the attitude of the CGD management of total arrogance, intransigence and disrespect towards workers cannot leave anyone indifferent!” – alleging that the union “has been from the beginning of this process with full responsibility and availability to negotiate, but cannot accept the Management’s repeated disregard for CGD workers.

“The proposal for a salary increase of around 0.4% is insulting and shameful,” it states.

In the statement, the union notes that “CGD between 2020 and the first nine months of 2021 achieved a result close to €1 billion, the highest profits of all banking in Portugal, an astronomical figure, demonstrating the company’s strong financial solidity, which enabled the delivery to the State of an extra dividend of €300 million.”

“This is many millions and millions achieved through the work, commitment and dedication of all workers, but for CGD management, this work is worth the paltry reward of a 0.4% pay rise,” it adds.

The STEC also states that CGD employees are coming to the end of a year with no pay rises and that the bank has said it is only willing to return to the negotiating table at the end of this month, which the union describes as a dismissive attitude.

“Inflation forecast for 2021 is over 1%,” the union’s statement notes. “With the increase proposed by CGD, workers will continue to lose purchasing power, which has been the case since 2010, given that since that year there have only been three salary updates in the company to which must be added the four-year career (2013-2016) completely erased.”

It says that the lack of pay rises comes on top of “the continuous deterioration and degradation of working conditions, and the serious and dangerous fact that CGD does not comply with the legally established working hours” and accuses management of not seeking dialogue and smooth relations within the company, but “on the contrary, ignoring the workers, and acting “in bad faith throughout this negotiating process of updating the salary scale.”