Montepio employees will receive a salary increase of 3%, retroactive to January, and a minimum monthly compensation of 1,150 euros, the bank’s executive committee announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“The Executive Committee of Banco Montepio has decided to update the salary scales of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (ACT) by 3%, to be applied to the base salary of the active employees, with retroactive effect from January 2023, and has set a minimum monthly remuneration of 1,150 euros, an amount that is 51% above the national minimum wage,” reads the message sent to the media.
According to Banco Montepio’s executive president, Pedro Leitão, quoted in the statement, “the decisions taken now do not conflict with the ongoing negotiation process with the entities representing the workers and do not determine it”, adding that, in addition to the salary update , transversally for all employees, “until the end of the third quarter, the annual process of employee appreciation and recognition will take place, in accordance with the policies in force” in the institution.
The National Union of Banking Technical Staff (SNQTB) announced a demonstration by workers and pensioners of Montepio Geral for the 25th, next to the bank’s headquarters, in Lisbon, to demand a “fair” wage increase, the “dignity of old-age pensions of bank employees” and “fair, balanced and effective collective bargaining,” according to a statement from the union.
“Over the past three years, Montepio Geral has systematically attempted to implement wage and pension updates that are lower than those of other institutions in the banking sector,” the union criticized.
SNQTB rejected Montepio Geral’s “unacceptable 2.5% proposal” for 2023, saying it was “unfair” and unwarranted given the bank’s positive results.
The “devaluation” of pensions “has increased and is becoming increasingly apparent due to recent updates (at least 8.24%) set by the government”, which compare to increases of an average of 3% for bank pensioners, the union says.
Banco Montepio posted a profit of EUR 35.3 million in the first quarter of 2023, more than three times the EUR 11.4 million in the same period of 2022.
Source: DN
