On Wednesday 13 June 2018, the Staff Delegation, supported by their unions, signed a social plan at Nordea bank in Luxembourg.

This agreement comes after long discussions and what were described as "very difficult" negotiations, after which the unions obtained socially acceptable and fair conditions for all employees.

This agreement was possible due to the solidarity and the mobilisation of the employees of Nordea and others from the financial sector of which more than 200 employees protested last Friday in front of the bank. The unions (Aleba, OGBL and LCGB) acknowledged this show of solidarity in a statement on Wednesday.

The unions had criticised the system of multiple and cumulative capping (Caps) at the level of monthly wages and extra-legal compensation for the reason that at the end of the day, the majority of employees affected would only receive "crumbs". Today, unions and staff representatives managed to remove some of these caps.

Part of Nordea in Luxembourg will be taken over by UBS Europe SE which took over Nordea's private banking business; another 150 Nordea staff will lose their jobs.

Flemming Lauridsen, CEO of Nordea Bank S.A., said “I believe that we have found a fair and respectful agreement, which will honour the loyalty and long years of service our employees have shown. For now, we remain focused on managing the transfer of our private banking business to UBS, and there will be no dismissals for economic reasons until the transfer has taken place. The agreement has been finalised now in order to give our employees a reasonable amount of time to plan their futures.”

“The negotiations have sometimes been difficult, but with a lot of support from our partners, common goals and above all a willingness to compromise from both sides, it has finally been possible to find a respectful agreement for everyone concerned.  I am very pleased that we have reached this agreement and am especially proud that it reflects Nordea's values” added Jan Lange, President of the Staff Delegation.

ALEBA, OGBL and LCGB stated that they are satisfied that management has finally met its social responsibilities towards employees.