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The the bank was awarded by Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as being the ‘most sustainable bank in the world’. New head of UNI Finance, Marcio Monzane, criticized the prize reminding that the sustainability of a company should start with appropriate working conditions and incentive practices for its workers.

The protest was done against recent cuts and precarious working conditions of bank workers in Itau. In the first half of 2011 the bank dismissed almost 4.000 workers. Itaú Unibanco is now the largest privately-controlled bank in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the 10 largest banks in the world.

The protest, organized by the Bank Workers Union of Sao Paulo, with the support of the National Confederation of Finance Sector Workers, became an international event, with the participation of trade union representatives of UNI Americas and UNI Finance. Trade unionists of several Latin American countries also took part in the protest. They were in Sao Paulo to participate in the UNI Americas union committees meetings of Itau Unibanco and Santander that took place few days earlier. The protest was also part of the action calendar of Itau bank workers to defend employment. Leaflets explaining the situation were handed to bank costumers and to local citizens.

The president of Contraf/CUT and UNI Americas Finance, Carlos Cordeiro, criticized the turnover policy of Itau Unibanco: “Itau must stop with these cuts and it has to improve working conditions promoting a healthy and safe environment. Thousands of bank workers have been getting sick due to these precarious labor-related conditions”. Cordeiro mentioned that a bank teller recently passed way on duty due to the excessive workload and pressure. “A bank that makes its employees get sick and dismiss them is not a good place to work”, stated the new regional secretary of UNI Americas, Adriana Rosenzvaig.