Staff at BNP’s Italian bank stage first strike since 1990s

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Italian banking unions said the strike was “a great success”, adding that take-up had been solid.

“The bank’s internal offices were completely deserted and remained closed as did most branches,” Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin said in a joint statement.

BNL said that 29.8% of its employees joined the strike.

“In such context, which is also characterised by year-end holidays, BNL has nevertheless ensured business continuity by strengthening the digital channel to support the physical channel” it said in a statement.

Workers are protesting against BNL’s decision to use external providers for IT and back office services, a move that unions said affects 90 out of a total of 11,500 BNL employees in its central offices and around 700 branches across Italy.

Unions have also voiced grievances about BNL’s sale to Worldline of an 80% stake in its card payment processing business Axepta Italy.