Employees of Romania's second largest bank threaten to go on strike

Romanian bank BRD’s management and the union representatives haven’t been able to reach an agreement on the collective labor agreement, which may cause a general strike. The union, which includes 3,800 employees, demands that salaries increase by RON 100 and that employees get money for clothes. They also request an early retirement program and a fixed part of employees' profit participation. The negotiations are currently blocked and the union has asked for an authorization from the Bucharest City Hall to stake their claims at the BRD headquarters in the Victoriei Square, reports local Profit.ro. Employees plan to picket the bank headquarters on Monday and Tuesday next week. BRD, which is Romania’s second-largest lender and is part of French group Societe Generale, returned to profit in 2014, after two years of losses. BRD made a net profit of EUR 9.7 million, compared to losses of EUR 87 million in 2013, according to the bank’s results. editor@romania-insider.com