As tension rises, staff at Hellenic Bank will go on a 24-hour warning strike on Tuesday, May 31, accusing the lender’s management of violations of agreements and laws.
Their union, Etyk, has also said in a written statement that the imminent strike is just a warning with measures set to be intensified if the management fails to “comply” with the law.
At the call of Etyk last week as many as 99.5 per cent, or 5,714 members of all banks, voted in favour of the work stoppage.
Hellenic Bank – the island’s second-largest commercial lender – under German CEO Oliver Gatzke is hoping to slash costs amid branch closures and increasing digitalization.
This has reduced demand for much of its staff, which it plans to decrease in number without, however, offering costly redundancy plans.
The union counters that the bank should offer a voluntary retirement plan, a move which the management views as costly and unlikely to reduce staff by the necessary amount.
