The National Workers’ Commission (NWC) of Novo Banco is calling for “two salaries for all employees as a minimum recognition for their effort, dedication, and fundamental role in the bank’s recovery and valuation.”
In a statement, the workers’ commission reported that on Monday it submitted more than 2,700 signatures to Novo Banco’s administration “with the firm conviction that this demonstration of unity and strength should lead to a reassessment of the decision made.”
The NWC document highlights that “the significant number” of signatures reveals the employees’ dissatisfaction with what they describe as “one of the greatest injustices on record: the allocation of million-euro bonuses to top management and some coordinating directors, while the vast majority of workers are excluded from any form of financial recognition.”
The representative body for the workers states that it is awaiting a positive response from the administration and, should this not occur, is considering new protest actions in coordination with workers and unions.
Novo Banco was established in 2014 to assume part of the banking activities of BES (following its resolution) and is owned by the banking Resolution Fund (a public entity).
The shareholders of Novo Banco (Lone Star with 75%, the Directorate-General of Treasury and Finance with 11.46%, and the Resolution Fund with 13.54%) agreed to sell it in June to the French group BPCE for 6.4 billion euros. Several steps remain for the deal to be finalized.
In September, controversy arose following a report that Lone Star executives and Novo Banco managers are set to receive bonuses amounting to 1.1 billion euros paid by the shareholder Lone Star in relation to the successful sale of Novo Banco.
