BCR increases salaries by and maintains the number of its employees

Romania's largest lender by assets Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) will change only the consistency and not the size of its staff this year and will raise salaries slightly over to 3 percent, half of last year's inflation rate, declared the bank's human resources executive director Andreea Voinea.

The inflation rate surged to 7.9 percent last year and in December it hit 6.3 percent.

On the one hand, BCR will give up some 400 less qualified jobs by externalizing the IT department and some of its cash transport services. On the other hand, it will hire risk management specialists, bank executors, audit, control and compliance specialists.

The bank also plans to open 40-50 new units this year and to keep its internship program.

Leaving out the collective dismissals that started at the middle of 2007 and by which the bank's staff was reduced from 10,700 employees to 8,700 employees, the personnel fluctuation stands at about 4 percent.

BCR was threatened with strikes at the beginning of the year as employees were not satisfied with the salary increase proposed by the bank. On March 6, the CEO Dominic Bruynseels mentioned that they were about to sign an agreement with trade unions.

Negotiations between the two parties lasted for several months and were kindled by the expiration of the collective working contract at the end of last year. The union even threatened to call a general strike at the middle of January, but postponed it and agreed to resume discussions.

BCR employees also protested at their working place between August 13 and 15 last year, unhappy with the modifications of the working schedule, the dismissal plan and the unequal payment.

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