UNI Tells Santander: Stop Your Anti-Union Stance

NYON, Switzerland, July 14, 2010 - Bank workers and their unions from around the world are coming together
to demand Spanish banking giant Santander respects its employees no matter
where they work.

UNI Finance Global Union is leading an international trade union
delegation to Boston today to support Santander workers in the United States
who want union representation. There is currently no recognised union in the
US that represents the workers at Santander-owned banking chain Sovereign.

Sovereign employees are fighting for their right for union representation
but UNI believes management has discouraged workers from joining a union.

UNI and the global trade union alliance at Santander are calling on
Santander Chairman Emilio Botín to ensure management's neutrality in the
union organising drive at Sovereign.

"Workers at Sovereign want a union but we have heard that their bosses
are telling them they will lose their jobs if they try to organise," said
Oliver Roethig, head of UNI Finance. "Santander has thousands of unionised
workers in many other countries around the world so we are dismayed by what
we believe is an anti-union attitude in the United States."

UNI alleges that some workers who have supported the union have been
unfairly dismissed; others have been told that the company is strongly
opposed to any union for employees.

The UNI delegation is calling on Santander to rehire workers it believes
were unfairly dismissed and stop what it perceives to be interference with
workers' rights to form a union. It will press Santander to sign a global
agreement that protects workers' rights in the United States and around the
world.

More information at: www.bankonrights.org

Contact UNI: rachel.cohen@uniglobalunion.org or +41-79-888-0753

UNI Finance is the global trade union for the finance industry.

Contact UNI: rachel.cohen at uniglobalunion.org or +41-79-888-0753