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It was the first time these groups ever came together in their history to exchange ideas and data and consider future work together for a combined solution to the widespread financial industry problems.



“It is very important that we address the current challenges together. Banks and employees share the same concerns and have a common interest in managing the crisis and ensuring a sound and stable finance sector for the future,” said Allan Bang, President of UNI Europa Finance.



At the meeting on 28 January in Brussels, UNI-Europa Finance and the three employers’ organisations said that they will monitor development of the financial crisis and expressed the will to continue constructive dialogue. They also agreed to collect and share data on employment trends in the sector.



“In tackling the financial crisis, it must not be ignored that a company is actually operated by their employees. They are the insiders and the public face of a bank,” said Oliver Roethig, Head of UNI Finance. “To restore public trust in the financial institutions and to ensure the long-term sustainability of banks, we must take account of operating practices at all levels. This is a common challenge to employees and management.”



“We are faced with reforming the financial system. Employees can provide a complementary bottom-up perspective in assessing the impact of and effectiveness of regulation. It is an essential element for gaining a comprehensive picture of what went wrong and what should be done to avoid a similar crisis in future”, said Allan Bang.



UNI-Europa Finance is the European trade union for the banking and insurance industry representing over 100 trade unions with 1.5 million employees in 38 countries. It is part of UNI Global Union and its regional organisation UNI-Europa.





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