Intesa CEO Refuses to Negotiate on Bank Employees’ Salary Increase Despite 7 Billion Euro Profit

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The managing director of IntesaSanPaolo, Carlo Messina, shuffled the cards at the XXII congress of Fabi, the largest trade union in the banking sector, by openly declaring that he broadly agreed on the need to recognize a salary adjustment for the bank’s employees. And when the secretary general of Fabi, Lando Maria Sileoni, asked him bluntly if he accepted the increase of 435 euros a month requested by the union, he replied: “Intesa Sanpaolo will not make any kind of negotiating approach on the economic requests” of the labor unions. Messina also stated that at a time when the profitability of banks is growing again “it is not acceptable not to give workers a substantial increase”. The sector contract has expired and been extended: the regulatory component of the contract is the one on which the greatest pressure is actually concentrated because, as Sileoni recalled at the opening of the event, the real counterpart that the banks want is flexibility which, in a phase of continuous evolution of business models, it can require significant efforts from workers. In recent months, the bank led by Messina had left the Casl Abi table to conduct separate negotiations with the unions, in particular on smartworking.

Messina: with a profit of 7 billion I won’t trade on 400 euros

“The type of salary that is received by most people in the bank requires interventions at a time like this. In a phase in which there is a significant increase in profitability, it is in no way acceptable not to grant substantial increases to bank workers. I find myself with the demands made by the unions”, explained Messina who added: “With a net profit of 7 billion euros, I don’t have the courage to look people in the face and say that I am starting to negotiate on this aspect”. the banker said. And again: given the current difficult conditions, “400 euros” make the difference for a bank employee. The curtain between Messina and Sileoni on stage was aired while the president of ABI, Antonio Patuelli, watched sitting in the stalls, after having participated in a previous round table. The question and answer was so clear and fast that an Mf journalist, speaker in the round table, could not fail to point out to Messina and Sileoni: who in fact had negotiated and made the agreement on stage. The move of IntesaSanPaolo’s number one has once again overtaken the banking association.

Patuelli: workers’ assemblies in progress, I won’t express myself

On the sidelines of the event, the journalists asked Patuelli for a comment. “Workers’ assemblies are underway in all the banks (to vote on the unions’ demand platform on the renewal of the contract, ed.) and until they are concluded I will not express myself”, he said.

Sileoni (Fabi): the ABI reports Intesa to the Casl

In the morning, Sileoni had asked the ABI to take immediate action to favor the return of Intesa Sanpaolo to the trade union committee of the Palazzo Altieri association. “To convince Intesa Sanpaolo to return (in the Casl, ed.) it will be essential that Abi builds a path with Intesa within Abi itself where people who know the world of union relations will be needed”. If the bank headed by Carlo Messina decides not to be part of the trade union committee, according to Sileoni there would be a real risk that in the current climate of competition between groups (including politics, he said) someone else could leave the Casl and this “would be detrimental to everyone”. The fear of the secretary general is that Intesa’s initiative will lead to a fragmentation of the contractual aspects, with different rules for each bank.

Montani (Bper): in agreement with Messina, flexibility is needed

Piero Montani, CEO of Bper, also agreed with Messina’s approach. “Do you want me to say something against Carlo Messina?”, He told reporters. “I think Messina is right” observed Montani, “we are negotiating (on the contract, ed), I am convinced that it will close well and quickly, the economy is an aspect but not the most important for the well-being of the workers we will also think about it” . Montani added on the contract: “I am convinced that it will be done. I believe that the most important thing is not the economic part but flexibility because the world has changed and the banks are different from each other”. The CEO of Bper added that banks need “great flexibility: the digitization we are carrying out brings about changes: in big cities, branches are often empty, customers go to the bank very little. One of the reasons why we lose funding is due to the issues of government bonds and the ease of buying these bonds even through the computer. This tells us that the market is changing and we need to be quick with more flexible contracts”. “The type of salary that is received by most people in the bank requires interventions at a time like this. In a phase in which there is a significant increase in profitability, it is in no way acceptable not to grant substantial increases to bank workers. I find myself with the requests made by the trade unions” in the context of the renewal of the national collective labor contract. This was stated by Carlo Messina, managing director and CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, during the XXII National Congress of Fabi, underway in Rome. “With a net profit of 7 billion euros, I don’t have the courage to look people in the face and say that I’m starting to negotiate on this aspect” Messina said again.

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