Negotiations lasted almost a year. But the banking sector now officially has a . In June, , but the banking sector remained deadlocked. In July, the ABBL and the Aleba-OGBL-LCGB inter-union, which had announced that on this issue, announced that . The agreement is now official, having been signed on Wednesday 9 October 2024. “It marks an important step in ensuring that the sector remains competitive and attractive while meeting the challenges of the future,” says the ABBL.
On the other hand, one of the inter-union’s demands is still the subject of a status quo. It concerned the “faux cadres” in the sector, these employees promoted to the rank of “cadre” (middle manager or executive) and who no longer fall within the scope of the collective agreement. “This was an important point in the unions’ list of demands. The unions wanted to establish a new group in the collective agreement, ‘Groupe cadres,’ precisely to keep these people in the collective agreement for longer, but to no longer link them to any salary increase via the collective agreement. The inter-union was unable to come to this proposal, this after long discussions. So it is the status quo on this subject,” says the vice-president of Aleba, Jean-Jacques Rieff. According to several old press releases published by the unions, the employees in this category would number nearly 10,000 in the sector and benefit from salaries outside the scales. “In many companies, this can even go up to 50%. That is half of the employees who are not in the collective agreement. It should be noted, however, that many companies apply many of the advantages of the agreement to all their staff, in particular leave,” specifies Rieff.
Elements confirmed by Sylvie Reuter of the OGBL, who also speaks of a phenomenon that has become more pronounced in recent years. “This term of faux cadre can have a pejorative side. It is not the fault of the employees, but if they are advantaged by this system, it is difficult to change things. They generally benefit from certain provisions of the agreement such as leave, but not from a thirteenth month for example or from payment of overtime. In the event of a social plan, they do not benefit, for example, from double notice. For each of these employees, the provisions are negotiated individually, so there is no uniformity. We would have liked to include them in the agreement, to guarantee them at least the minimum, excluding questions of remuneration and working hours,” she adds. On this point, the unions have therefore not won their case, but the negotiations will still have been an opportunity to “restructure things.”
Improvements
For other employees, the agreement introduces a number of improvements, including stronger provisions to reward the loyalty and commitment of employees throughout the banking sector. For example, the agreement provides for a loyalty bonus based on seniority to be paid to employees (in groups A to D). The percentage of basic pay increases with each year of seniority, reaching 85% after 15 years and 90% after 16 years or more. This bonus is intended to encourage employees to remain in the banking sector over the long term.
The new agreement also provides for annual salary increases in the form of a global envelope. In 2024, this envelope is 1% (after deduction of what would already have been paid in 2024). In 2025 and 2026, the envelope is 0.5% and 1% respectively. This regular increase should ensure that employees enjoy continuous salary progression, reinforcing their commitment to their employer. In the same vein, employees will now be entitled to a so-called “thirteenth month” allowance at the end of the year, equal to their basic pay plus any seniority bonus.
The agreement also introduces a new job classification method based on five criteria: knowledge, complexity, impact, human contacts and team management, coordination and expertise. Each criterion is assessed on a four-level scale, and the sum of the points obtained classifies the employee in one of the four function groups. This system gives employees a clear view of their position and career development opportunities, encouraging them to develop their skills and progress within their institution.
More generally, the negotiated agreement stresses the importance of employability and ongoing training. An annual budget of 1.65% of the reference payroll is allocated to training and employability. Employees benefit from a right to individual and empowered development and have access to different types of training, including induction programmes, continuous training for employability and skills development, and reorientation training. This focus on training enables employees to keep up to date in a constantly evolving sector, thereby fostering their commitment and loyalty.
Last but not least, there are specific provisions for work in front of luminous screens and work without natural light, as well as protection against sexual and moral harassment, the prevention of psychosocial risks and corporate social responsibility.
Article updated 10 October at 14:30 with comment from the unions.
This article was originally published in .