And an internal company vote – offering employees only two management-defined options – cannot stand in for genuine collective bargaining. Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said: “The BRD dispute has become a test of social dialogue within Societe Generale. UNI Europa will continue to stand with BRD workers and their union as they press for a fair new agreement.” The impasse at BRD comes after months of pressure on collective bargaining in the Romanian banking sector. Last year, three multinational banks – Societe Generale’s BRD, ING and Raiffeisen – withdrew from the country’s banking employers’ federation, putting at risk the sector-level agreement that sets standards for tens of thousands of finance workers.