EDITORIAL: Enough! A bank stands up to unions in Cyprus

It would seem that the management of the National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) and their bosses in Athens have finally decided to stand up to the bullying tactics of the bank employees union, ETYK, who kicked up a strike in objection to recent hirings.

The union leaders sabotaged the bank by forcing the NBG Cyprus employees working in the data processing department to down their keyboards and walk out, because the recent hirings had not been previously approved by ETYK.

As a result, the NBG branches in Cyprus were paralysed, while the revolting union chief(s) also ordered employees of other banks not to handle or clear transactions from or to NBG.

It’s a shame that some union bosses abuse their status and continue to impose bullying tactics, at a time when electronic banking is rapidly taking over conventional methods of transacting bank business, while overseas banks continue to lure business away from the shores of Cyprus due to the ludicrous banking business hours observed on this one-time Colonial island.

ETYK’s actions are to be condemned by all banks and any sane member of the union, as the future of the banking industry is in jeopardy.

The demise of a small-network bank such as NBG Cyprus cannot be regarded as a harbinger of bad news for the rest of the banks, but ETYK’s chiefs are also prepared to battle this one out as it will be sending a clear message to all bank bosses not to mess with employees’ rights. Not that this is a class of underprivileged workers.

This is not the first time that the mighty union has picked on a small player if one izs to recall the bullying tactics during the Arab Bank crisis.

The union is also signaling to forces behind the recent announcements of expansions or potential mergers that they must include ETYK in all their future deals, something that was briefly achieved when Marfin Popular’s Andreas Vgenopoulos gave promises of keeping the workforce in case a deal went through with Bank of Cyprus.

NBG Cyprus claims that it has complied with all banking regulations regarding the recent employs, while it blasts ETYK for violating the labour code and calling their strike “illegal” and “unjustified”.

The question is, who dares to chastise the bad boys at ETYK for their naughty actions, when the next presidential elections are just nine months away?