IN AN APPARENT act of reprisal, the bankers union ETYK has expelled three employees at the National Bank of Greece on charges of “anti-trade union activity.”
Meanwhile seven more employees have been asked to appear before a panel of union delegates to answer similar charges.
Earlier this month, the bank called a lockout after four employees at its IT department went on strike, reportedly on the orders of ETYK. The employees allegedly took with them the access codes to the computer network.
The dispute between the union and NBG arose after three employees from the bank’s Greece headquarters were seconded to its Cyprus branch.
ETYK insists the seconding of staff is subject to its approval, according to collective agreements in force in the banking sector. It worries that local staff may be passed over if such practices are not checked.
NBG’s view is that they reserve the right to hire anyone for any amount of time, needing permission only from the Labour Ministry. The bank has also cited the EU acquis on the free movement of labour.
According to sources, the three NBG employees kicked out of the union had received letters from the union asking them to attend a panel committee. When the three asked to be informed of the precise accusations, the union’s next action was to expel them.
Last week some 70 NBG employees hit the streets to protest against the strike that has crippled the bank for almost a month now.
They are concerned that they might not be paid their salaries at the end of the month. ETYK has told them to seek their paycheque from the bank, which is responsible for the lockout.
The bank says it is ETYK’s responsibility to cover employees during work stoppages.
Bizarrely, the walkout by the IT staff was decided independently by them, in apparent breach of regulations stating that all bank employees must vote on such action.
Even odder is the fact that the union has not acknowledged a petition by around 150 bank employees demanding an end to the strike.
In short, the employees want to go back to work, but the union says they can’t.
One employee who contacted the Mail yesterday shed some light on the standoff:
“When we went to ETYK headquarters to hand over our petition, they refused to recognise it because, as they said, the vote did not take place inside the ETYK building.”
According to the same source, tempers flared, culminating in pushing and shoving and shouting matches between union delegates and bank workers, including curse words—none of them repeatable.
“You want to know why they don’t recognise our petition? Here’s an idea: it costs less to give compensation to four people [the IT staff] than to more than 150.”
The union has a special fund to assist members in the event of strikes.
The source, one of the seven employees receiving a notice from ETYK, said he and at least one other colleague had decided to leave the union of their own will.
“What’s the point? The union doesn’t seem to be doing anything for us. And now they’re resorting to these tactics, ejecting members as if it were some kind of persecution.
“It’s a shame what the union has become. My own mother was a founding member back in 1955. She could never imagine that it would come to this,” he said.
Another employee, also speaking anonymously, described ETYK chairman Loizos Hadjicostis as a “vindictive person, who always tries to impose his own will”.
“Sometimes during union meetings, when he does not like what someone is saying, he makes sarcastic comments or tries to change the subject,” she said.
Meanwhile the Attorney-general has prepared a legal opinion on the dispute, which he has reportedly forwarded to the Labour Ministry.
His findings will address the substance of the case, such as whether the EU acquis supersedes national collective agreements or whether banks may second staff without consulting the bankers union.
NBG has also taken the union to the courts, asking for an interim order to suspend the strike at the IT department.
What’s more, the bank plans to sue the IT staff for property theft [the access codes] and damages for losses incurred during over the past four weeks.
Yesterday, EU Commissioner for Internal Markets Charlie McCreevy called on authorities to resolve the crisis as soon as possible.
McCreevy was asked to comment on the NBG lockout during a joint news conference with Finance Minister Michalis Sarris in Nicosia.
The EU Commissioner pointed out that the free movement of people was one of the most fundamental principles of the European Union.
But he added: “Because this matter concerns an industrial relations dispute, it would be best for Cyprus authorities to solve their own problems before the issue goes any further.”
He said European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Vladimir Spidla was “aware” of the issue.
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