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BCR president, unionists meet for reconciliation

Chairman of Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) Dominic Bruynseels and representatives of the BCR trade unions federation sat down on Monday, at 2:00 p.m., for conciliation talks.

About 7,000 of the almost 9,000 BCR employees are union members; the bank personnel announced an all-out strike on Wednesday in support of pay hike claims and the signing of the collective bargaining contract for 2009.

BCR officials said that the union claims are unrealistic but that they are open to dialogue with the unionists and have nothing against the existence of a trade union inside the institution.

Erste Bank management on Monday voiced full support for the stance of the BCR leaders towards the personnel's all-out strike announced for Wednesday.

'We fully support the BCR management in negotiations and consider that in the current economic context, the claims of the BCR trade union are in strong mismatch with reality,' said Erste Bank president Andreas Treichl.

The BCR Independent Unions Federation notified on Monday the bank management of the planned protest and called on personnel to go on all-out strike.

'The BCR Independent Trade Unions Federation (FSI) notified today the BCR management that it has called on its members to go on unlimited general strike starting Wednesday, January 14, 9:00 a.m. The action is mainly caused by salary grievances. The FSI decision occurs at a time when the Collective Bargaining Contract expired at the end of 2008, despite efforts made by BCR management, throughout negotiations, for finding a solution acceptable for both sides against the difficult economic backdrop in Romania. FSI representatives broke off negotiations immediately after the conciliation stage, thus refusing to continue the dialogue', the bank informs in a release to Agerpres.

'We are truly surprised at the union's approach, all the more so as during the almost two months of negotiations between the sides, the management came up with no less than six successive bids aimed at offering BCR staff an adequate salary package and helping conclude negotiations,' said the BCR management.

The bids were the best the bank can afford under the current economic conditions and were accompanied by the pledge to keep employees at the current number of about 8,700.

The bank management considers that the union's decision to start the strike lacks a real justification and will challenge the action in court.

'BCR further stays open to negotiations and we want to find a solution to the still unsettled issues; I believe we have close stances and with a little more willingness from both sides in moving on, we should come to terms; this is what we are after, it benefits us all and our clients,' states the bank management.

A member of Erste Group, BCR is the leading banking institution in Romania, managing more than 17.5 bln euros in assets. The bank offers a full range of retail products and services, running 630 retail offices throughout the country, in most cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants.

Sursa: http://www.rompress.ro

Tags: bcr negotiations management strike bcr

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