Briefing
The trade union confederation Comisiones Obreras presented its negotiating positions in Madrid on 17 September 2026 for the forthcoming renewal of the collective agreement in the banking sector, and also announced a period of coordinated mobilisation. The current agreement expires at the end of December 2026; according to the organisation, formal negotiations are due to begin in early 2027. Its main demand is a phased pay rise of up to seven per cent in the first year (2027) and four per cent annually for the following three years, together with an annual index-linked adjustment.
Other key demands include limiting annual working hours to a maximum of 1,600 hours and workplace organisation measures to ease the burden on branch and head-office staff. CCOO cites an internal survey from spring 2026, according to which a very large proportion of employees report a significant increase in workload. The union official responsible for the sector, Javier de Dios said the aim was to give employees a three-day weekend at least once a month and improve the rules on remote and in-person work, including the right to disconnect.
The organisation is warning of an “otoño caliente” (hot autumn) and plans nationwide rallies outside the headquarters of major banks from October 2026; a two-hour strike in the first half of December has not been ruled out. CCOO justifies the threat of escalation by pointing to ongoing staff cuts and the high profits made by the major banks in recent years; in the union’s view, more of these profits should be reinvested in staff, pay and health and safety.
Both the pay demands and the working-time targets are negotiating positions at this stage. Whether, and to what extent, they will be included in the new collective agreement for 2027–2030 will be decided in the coming rounds of talks with the employers’ associations. No response from employers was available at the time of reporting. The published sector report is entitled El Momento es Ahora and serves as the basis for CCOO’s planned actions.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).