Santander Is Falling Behind On Inflation Payments To German Bank Employees

According to union leaders, Spain's Santander is the only major bank operating in Germany that has not declared a special payment to local employees to assist them to cope with surging inflation, despite the firm's statement that negotiations were underway.

Last year, the German union Verdi called on banks to offer some of its lowest-paid employees a bonus to help them cope with rising energy expenses. It wanted $1,500 ($1,623) for 2022 and $1,500 ($1,623) for 2023, compelling several institutions to pay up.

In Europe's greatest economy, inflation reached 8.7% in 2022, fueled by an energy shortfall, supply-chain difficulties, and the Ukraine conflict.

Santander, headquartered in Madrid, employs 4,300 people in Germany, including around 1,000 working in branches.

“Among public and private banks, Santander is the main exception,” said Stefan Wittmann, a Verdi representative negotiating on behalf of Santander workers.

“It is the only significant player who is holding out.”

Santander and union officials agreed to discuss the problem in a meeting next week on Friday, although Santander has not issued a binding offer, according to Wittmann.

Santander said that it was in discussions with Verdi about modifying its collective pay agreement and that the inflation requests came up late last year.

The bank said that it “would want to provide a standard company-wide solution in the near future,” and that it was “confident” of reaching an agreement shortly.

Santander increased its quarterly net profit by 11% in the third quarter, above experts' expectations.

Banks in Spain, including Santander, and the country's two largest unions have agreed to boost pay in the industry by 4.5% in 2023 compared to 2022, however, it is unclear if all workers would get the hike in Santander's case.

($1 = 0.9245 euros)

About Santander

Santander is a global Spanish commercial bank and financial services, provider. It is the biggest bank by market capitalization in the Eurozone and one of the top banks in the world by total assets. The bank has branches in numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, and the United States, and is headquartered in Madrid. Santander provides a diverse variety of financial goods and services, including retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and asset management. It also operates in the insurance and financial services industries.

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