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Trade unions of the financial sector of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) affiliated to UNI Europa met in Warsaw on 20-21 June 2017. They agreed to working together in solidarity in order to increase the standards of the social dialogue and improve the working conditions in the financial sector in their region. They critisised the social dumping currently exercised by banks and financial institutions in CEE, mostly based on low wages and savings introduced at the expense of employees. Continuous shifting of the banks and financial institutions chasing cheaper labour and inferior working conditions in CEE has a negative impact on all employees. Thanks to these savings, those companies multiply their profits. Inferior treatment of employees from the sector in CEE countries is detrimental the reputation of banks and financial institutions, being institutions of public trust.

The trade union thus declared that their future cooperation shall include the following elements:

• Facilitating contacts with employees at the moment of their recruitment so that the newly recruited employees can learn about the union and who represents them.
• Regular direct meetings of the Boards of the Company and the Union in order to negotiate working conditions.
• Exchange of information, organisation of consulting and training sessions.
• Compliance with legal provisions and agreements pertaining to the participation of union members in talks and negotiations on dismissals or ownership changes.
• Ensuring equal opportunities for all employees and counteracting in particular the stress factors in the company in compliance with the legal and ethical norms of the country.
• Treating trade unions as partners rather than opponents.
• Stopping any kind of practice of trade union members’ discrimination.

Should any of those points be breached by a bank / financial institution’s management, they shall act together to support each other to stop the practice. They concluded by emphasizing that fair working conditions are a guarantee of the company’s stability and customers’ trust.