2023-07-05 07:23:41
BBVA has yielded to pressure from the entity’s employees and has had to lower mortgage interest rates after the lightning rise in the Euribor in the last year. The unions’ complaints have had an effect and they have reached an agreement so that bank workers are not so affected by the reference indicator for mortgage loans.
In the words of CCOO and UGT, «It has been a tough negotiation in which BBVA’s position was very disappointingSince the management committee said no to everything they proposed, “for what they consider to have caused a delay in resolving the workforce. In fact, all the workers’ representatives have agreed and the request to the company has been unanimous.
What was signed between the trade unions and the Bilbao-based entity refers to the loan modality for first and second homes (even those recently renovated at EUR+0.25) at no cost to employees or having to pay for going to the notary to sign the transaction. Employees will benefit from a differential of -0.10 for home purchase loans, while the unions demanded a maximum fixed rate of 1.5% in order to avoid further scares due to the foreseeable rise in the Euribor in the coming months . The improvements achieved are:
Until 10/15/2023 the following types of novation are maintained:
o Term less than or equal to 15 years: 2.20%
o Term greater than 15 years: 2.30% In most cases, a
reversibility to the previous conditions. Possibility of capital amortization reducing term and maintaining quota,
or by reducing the quota and maintaining the term. For new hires, the possibility that the maximum term reaches
at age 67, instead of the current maximum 65 years.
This negotiation has taken place in a context with the Euribor above 4%, something that has not happened since 2011, so that during all these years the interest rate has been maintained, even negative, and employees have been able to benefit from this circumstance
But once that stage has passed and in 2023 the monthly mortgage installments have become more expensive due to the revisionsthat situation changed and the workers began to complain about the high prices they paid and that the entity did not make an effort in this regard, taking into account that the record profits obtained in 2022 amounted to 6,420 million euros, 38% more than the previous year, the greatest benefit of the bank after that achieved by Santander Bank.
UNIONS ASK FOR MORE FROM BBVA
Another of the demands of the unions is that the option of teleworking be extended to those functions that are capable of exercising it, especially as a result of the pandemic that has been seen as a way of reducing costs and as a reconciliation measure. All this despite the fact that BBVA defends that they have implemented a definitive teleworking model, establishing 60% of the time face-to-face and 40% remote, so there is a contradiction between what the company says and what the unions denounce. in separate communications.
On the other hand, from the UGT and CCOO they demand that in the next negotiation of the collective agreement for savings, banking and rural banks, workers be compensated for the loss of purchasing power as a result of the rise in inflation. At the end of 2022 and after numerous requests to BBVA to apply a salary increase to employees, an increase of 4.5% was finally achieved of workers’ salaries as of January 2023. After this review, the rest of the financial entities in the sector agreed to review the salaries of workers in view of the benefits obtained and due to the economic situation.
Due to factors like inflation, interest rates and record profits demand that negotiations be opened within a maximum period of 2 months to address the measures for 2024-2026. Other requests from the unions to BBVA is the elimination of one-person offices, the elimination of having to work in the afternoons in the month of July, as well as covering the medical leave of employees with operational support with the hiring of more staff.
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