Enterprise agreement with bonus system at National Bank of Greece

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In September 1997, a new enterprise-level collective agreement was signed for the National Bank of Greece, covering the years 1997/8. A share ownership scheme is one of its principal features.

A new agreement was signed between on 2 September 1997 by the management of the National Bank of Greece (ETE) and the Union of Employees of the National Bank (SYETE). Its main effect is to award higher pay to all bank employees.

The Bank's management, recognising the contribution of the staff to the achievement of satisfactory results during the 1996 fiscal year, as well as their decisive contribution to the bank's positive direction, has given employees the chance to buy bonds which may be converted into shares or cashed immediately, according to their grade and department.

This pioneering contract provides for employees to receive, instead of a percentage increase in their monthly emoluments, a bonus of bonds (shares) in the Bank. In this way, employees will receive an additional benefit from the good performance of the stock on the stock market; if they keep their bonds for 15 months, it is estimated that they will enjoy a net gain of GRD 300,000-660,000.

For the "purchase" of these bonds, the Bank will grant each employee a personal loan of an amount equivalent to the value of the bonds to which he or she is entitled, whose rate of interest has been set at 8% if paid back after 15 November 1997, and at 10% if paid back before 15 November. SYETE calculates that employees will gain GRD 20,000 from each bond (current value GRD 37,000 less the acquisition differential of GRD 17,000). If employees do not cash in their bonds before 15 November 1998, each bond will be converted into two shares, in which case the benefit is expected to be even greater.

Responsibility bonuses have been increased and grade allowances readjusted and at the same time extended to auxiliary staff and the technical department. Part-time and temporary employees will receive similar allowances, and the interest rate on personal loans will be set at 6%. Uniform allowances have also been readjusted, and objective criteria for staff recruitment are being adopted. The total increase in benefits varies between 8% and 35%.

SYETE has declared the outcome of negotiations satisfactory, since it fulfils employee requirements and expectations. Nevertheless it also criticises management "intransigence" on allowance increases for executives and especially for specialised staff, underlining the union's intention to take action to oblige management to provide an immediate solution.

According to the president of SYETE, "the new contract, in the economic and social conditions in which it was negotiated, is another step in the direction of supporting our co-workers and strengthening a climate of trust between the two sides (management and union), a climate necessary for the bank to grow".