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Large success for Bank workers in Brazil
On the 20th anniversary of national collective agreements, Brazilian bank workers consolidate their strategy to obtain wage increases above inflation, better benefits and higher profit shares.
On Tuesday, October 2nd, the National Confederation of Financial Sector Workers (Contraf/CUT), the regional federations and the local bank workers’ unions signed the National Collective Agreement (NCA) for the banking sector with the employers’ organisation (Fenaban) in São Paulo. The agreement was approved by workers across the country on September 26th , after a nine days of national strike. This is the 20th agreement. The first one had been signed by bank employees in 1992. Supplementary agreements on specific issues were signed with Banco do Brasil and Caixa, the two largest public banks, on this Thursday in Brasília, the capital of Brazil.
“This Collective Agreement, which was signed as a result of the 2012 National Bargaining Campaign, has a special and historical importance. We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of this negotiation process, which is key to preserving national unity and workers’ benefits; it is still a benchmark for other sectors in Brazil”, said Carlos Cordeiro, president of Contraf/CUT and coordinator of the National Leadership of Bank Workers Unions, during the signing event of the agreement.
“We are all proud of being part of this, especially myself, as president of Contraf/CUT. We have come to this historic moment at the end of yet another great strike and new gains without any mediation. We’ve consolidated our strategy of real wages increases, higher wage floor, better profit share, gains in health issues, in workplace security and equal opportunities", added Cordeiro, saying special thanks to all local banking union leaders on this successful national campaign.
The president of the Bank Workers Union of São Paulo, Juvandia Moreira honored “the various generations of bank workers that took part in this history of national collective agreements, which are crucial for workers in the banking sector across the country."
On behalf of Brazil’s Central of Workers (CTB), a smaller trade union federation, the president of the Regional Federation of Bahia and Sergipe, Emanuel Souza, highlighted the national unity of all bank workers in this year's campaign and praised the role of Contraf in coordinating the National Leadership and in leading such unity.
The main employers’ negotiator, Apostolic Magnus, said the 2012 national "has been resolved in a more effective way, which I hope may be a turning point in negotiations between banks and bank workers"
This year, bank workers gained 7.5% of wage increase and 8.5% on the wage floor, as part of the Collective Agreement, which means a real gain, of 2% and 2.95%. We also reached 8.5% increase on meal and food stamps, besides an increase of 10% in the profit share bonus.
With the 20th Collective Agreement, bank workers obtained, through mobilization and strikes, 16.22% of wage increase above inflation since 2004, besides 35.57 of real increase on the wage floor and better profit share year after year.
Source: Contraf/CUT.