Bank workers’ union criticise pay rise

Bank of Cyprus’ (BoC) move to grant pay rises to only three per cent of its staff has drawn criticism from bank workers union ETYK.

In a circular addressed to BoC employees on Monday, the union grumbled that the salary hikes were given in a non-transparent manner.

ETYK complained that the bank did not make known the criteria by which it decided on the pay rises.

Criteria should be measurable and quantifiable, it added.

And in an apparent bid to insert a monkey wrench, ETYK panned the bank for not identifying which employees were getting the salary bump.

It went on to urge any BoC employees with a gripe to lodge a formal complaint with the bank.

Last week the bank circulated an internal memo revealing that pay rises would be given to about three per cent of staff, effective as of July.

BoC said the hikes would be granted to workers on the lower end of the pay scale, particularly employees who joined the bank at a time when promotion opportunities were limited.

The bank said it had identified a number of cases where salaries were below the market value, and wanted to “correct” this discrepancy.

“This action allows the bank to reverse the stagnation of the past years and to address any injustices and restore parity among the staff,” it said.

It’s understood these are the first pay rises granted by the bank since the financial meltdown of March 2013.

As part of a bailout deal, Cyprus and its international lenders agreed to convert 47.5 per cent of deposits exceeding €100,000 in BoC to equity to recapitalise the bank. The lender also had to absorb the liabilities and some of the assets of Laiki Bank, which was wound down.

Following a change of guard at the bank, and the arrival of a new CEO, BoC left the banks’ association so it could negotiate separately with its own employees.

The move arguably did little to loosen ETYK’s grip on BoC employees. The bank had been making noises about extending opening hours, but recently struck a compromise with the union where bank branches would stay open until 2.30pm instead of 1.30pm previously.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.