How banks will deal with the pandemic at the counter. Abi-trade union agreement
What does the agreement between ABI and banking unions foresee to protect employees against the pandemic. All the details
The discussion continues between the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and the trade unions Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin on the situation created by the pandemic and on the consequences for the employees of the sector. At the end of a discussion that took place yesterday, the parties signed a report that integrates the protocol of 28 April with the measures to prevent, combat and contain the spread of Covid-19.
THE AGREEMENTS REACHED BY ABI AND TRADE UNIONS
During the meeting, the ABI and the trade unions agreed on the need to monitor the measures taken in favor of the banking sector according to the different risk scenarios in the country. "The fruitful discussion with the General Secretaries confirmed the importance of the constant and constructive dialogue started between the Parties since the beginning of the health emergency to combine the priority safety of people and the guarantee of services to support the economy and families , enhancing the positive experience gained up to now ”commented Salvatore Poloni, president of the Trade Union and Labor Affairs Committee of Palazzo Altieri. Poloni recalled that in the minutes of the meeting the parties agreed to meet next January "to assess, in the light of the evolution of the legislative provisions on the subject, the needs of particular categories of personnel, such as parents with children up to 14 years whose didactic activity in presence is suspended, or the so-called 'fragile' subjects ". During the meeting, another important objective was reached, namely that of “making the right to staff meetings effective even in the current situation of limitation to the movement of people”. Therefore, with specific minutes of the meeting, "suitable operational solutions" were identified for the first time with rules at the sector level, so that it is possible – on an experimental basis until March 31, 2021 – "remote" trade union meetings .
THE PROTOCOL OF LAST APRIL 28
Thanks to the protocol signed in April to guarantee the provision of services in the banking sector, the ABI and the trade unions and the legislation connected to each phase of the Covid-19 emergency have adjusted the sector's security measures in light of the provision issued by government on April 26. "During the comparison – a note from Palazzo Altieri informed – the complex framework of reference was first considered in which the Banks – central infrastructure to support businesses and families – continue to be called upon to ensure the continuity of services, as foreseen from the beginning of the emergency in the provisions of the competent Authorities, through the extraordinary commitment and sense of responsibility of the people who work in the bank ". "The shared Protocol of April 28, 2020 – Poloni had found – represents for banking services, in light of its peculiarities in the sector, the reference of the prevention rules essential for operations, on a par with the provisions of other business associations and the Confederations trade unions on 24 April 2020 for industrial and commercial production companies ". For this reason it was sent to the Prime Minister, to the ministers of the competent departments, to the president of the Committee of experts in economic and social matters and to the other competent Authorities.
FABI: HEALTH PROTECTION OF WORKERS AND WORKERS IS PRIORITY
For Lando Maria Sileoni , secretary general of Fabi – the first trade union in the sector – "the banking sector is the first sector that, thanks to the agreement (yesterday, ed) between all the trade unions and the ABI, starts the meetings from remote, on an experimental basis until March 31, ensuring the workers of the banks the possibility of always being heard by the union representatives ”. For Sileoni "workers and workers therefore remain at the center of our priorities, as well as their protection and health: therefore today we have also agreed that in the 'red areas' of the country, also in the interest of customers, the obligation to make an appointment to enter the branch, leaving to any group agreements the possibility of extending this and other measures also in the yellow and orange areas. We also reiterated – concludes the secretary of Fabi – that agile work or smart working will be used as a prevention tool, in this emergency phase, to favor distancing and therefore avoid crowding in the workplace ".
THE LATEST DATA ON BANKS AND THE INTERNET
Meanwhile, credit institutions continue and indeed increase technological investments. As emerges from the latest study on the safety of ABI Lab, the Consortium for Research and Innovation for the bank promoted by Palazzo Altieri, most of the companies analyzed indicated an increase in investments for the protection of remote channels for 2020 used by customers. Therefore, the expected spending volumes for IT security compared to the total IT budget have gone from 7% in 2019 to 12% in 2020. The IT security budget is divided between interventions to increase the security levels of services (31% ), interventions for the evolution of the service offered to customers, also from a business perspective (30%) and interventions for the adaptation to safety regulations (39%).
The strong attention of the banking world for the Internet and for Mobile Banking is also confirmed in the spending forecasts formulated for 2020: 87% of responding banks reported growth or strong growth in investments in Mobile. The data comes from a survey contained in the Annual Report also carried out by Abi Lab, which takes stock of the development and potential of Digital Banking Also for Internet Banking it is noted that 65% of banks increase their economic effort. The areas of greatest attention on digital channels are cybersecurity, systems efficiency and staff specialization. The study highlights that the main work areas to which banks are dedicating themselves for the development of digital channels during 2020 are the programming interfaces of open applications (open API) (indicated by 81% of the banks interviewed for Mobile Banking and 76% for Internet Banking), the extension of the functions connected to payments and the enhancement of the procedures for signing documents. Furthermore, the collaboration with Fintechs for the development of the offer on digital channels is already a reality for over half of the responding banks and in the future it will be for about 3/4 of the credit institutions.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/come-le-banche-fronteggeranno-la-pandemia-negli-sportelli-accordo-abi-sindacati/ on Tue, 22 Dec 2020 08:47:46 +0000.