OTP banka d.d. has concluded a new Collective Bargaining Agreement

OTP banka d.d. and the Union of Bank and Financial Employees concluded a new three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement, allowing bank employees to hold onto all their existing rights, whilst acquiring some new ones.

On the 7th of December, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was concluded in Split. It will cover the period from 01 January 2021 to the end of 2024. On behalf of the bank, the Agreement was signed by Balázs Békeffy, president of the Board, and by Petar Perković, head union representative, on behalf of the Union of Bank and Financial Employees.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement retained all the material rights from the preceding agreement. Going forward, the bank will continue to pay 13th salary to its employees, as well as perquisites, and a gift to children in December, along with the holiday bonus in May. The bank has been ensuring professional training and improvement to its employees, allowing them to devote as many as ten days off to such activities. Furthermore, employees have been provided with regular full check-ups, and receive support for sports and cultural activities. There is a baby bonus for expecting parents, as high as HRK 10 thousand, whereas employees are also eligible for negotiable rates when applying for housing loans and an overall range of banking services. Employees' loyalty to the bank translates into attractive long-service awards, and some employees are also eligible for rewards and bonuses, and compensation for job-specific circumstances. All employees of the bank are insured, and should they find themselves in a predicament, they may count on solidarity and support from the bank.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement has extended the holiday entitlement and paid leave, especially for parents, introduced an extra day of paid leave for parents to take their children to kindergarten or elementary school on their first day, extra days off for volunteer work organised by the bank and its partners, and extended the possibility of having paid leave for continuing education and training.

„We are delighted that over the last couple of months, an extremely open dialogue with our social partners and an overall air of mutual appreciation yielded the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. We believe the Collective Bargaining Agreement is among the top-quality of its kind in Croatia, which brings us joy. However, a much more important aspect is that it contains new and extended entitlements of our colleagues, parents in particular, those that pursue continuing education or those wishing to contribute to the communities in which they work by doing volunteer work“,  said Mr Balázs Békeffy upon signing the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

„As before, we negotiated the overall wording of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. We considered the current level of our employees’ rights, as well as the possibilities for further growth and, in my opinion, finally we concluded a top-quality Collective Bargaining Agreement. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to the Union’s negotiation team, president of the Board of the bank, and to other colleagues for a productive and cooperative environment and debate during negotiations. I wish to point out that in the face of the difficulties brought on by the pandemic, we managed to hold on to substantial rights, and made an effort to have the holiday entitlement, paid leave increased (first day of nursery or school), as well as to have the rights of our colleagues – parents of children with developmental difficulties improved upon“, Petar Perković stated.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement is the token of commitment of OTP banka d.d. to development of a responsible work environment. Apart from the rights covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the bank continues to invest into its employees, and finds other ways to ensure a healthy and a quality work environment, as well as opportunities for personal and professional growth.