Workers at Santander Portugal are taking to the streets today 1st October against collective dismissal plans. After bulldozing restructuring that has already cost 2.000 workers their jobs, the bank is now ruthlessly planning to go ahead with more cuts, bullying and threatening the workers to accept the termination of their employment contracts.
The call for strike comes after a year of conflict between the Portuguese banking trade unions and UNI affiliates Mais Sindicato, SBC and SBN, and the banking multinational Santander. Earlier this month, UNI together with other international trade union confederations wrote to Santander Group CEO Ana Botin-Sanz de Sautuola y O’Shea to express their deep concerns at the ongoing antagonistic behaviour of the bank.
“UNI Europa Finance stands behind our Portuguese affiliates who are defending the fundamental trade union right to bargain collectively for fair conditions for all workers”, said Maureen Hick, UNI Europa Finance Director.
“We call for Santander to start engaging in a genuine dialogue and stop undermining the basic principle of social dialogue”, she added.