On 24 March Italy’s banking sector employers and trade union bodies together signed a new agreement that includes the anti-coronavirus protocol from the preceding week (c.f. article No. 11732). The primary measure of the new agreement intends for bank branches nationwide to only be open for scheduled customer appointments. The agreement puts a close to the standoff between the sector’s social partners that saw trade unions seeking a total 15 day closure of all branch offices and the employers ABI body (Associazione Bancaria Italiana) refusing to accept such conditions.
By appointment only. The sector’s trade unions, FABI, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca, and Unsin had been raising the alarm over the continuous flow of customer traffic through the banks’ branch offices over recent weeks, and in particular customers in older age cohorts who are considered to be especially vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19 and who are the least expert in using in-branch automated banking facilities.
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