Bank Workers Win a 3 Percent Rise Backdated to January, and the 30 November Strike Is Off Everywhere but Millennium bcp and Banco Montepio

Four of Portugal's bank staff unions have agreed a 3 percent pay rise for 2026 with the banks and called off the national bank strike set for Monday 30 November. The deal does not cover Millennium bcp or Banco Montepio, and for those two banks the strike stays on the calendar for now.

The unions announced the agreement in a joint communiqué dated 27 October, signed by the Sindicato Nacional dos Quadros e Técnicos Bancários (SNQTB), the Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores da Banca, Seguros e Tecnologias (SBC), the Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Setor Financeiro de Portugal (SBN) and Mais Sindicato.

What has been agreed

According to the communiqué, the talks were held with the Associação Portuguesa de Bancos (Portuguese Banking Association, APB) and with the Crédito Agrícola mutual banks (Caixas de Crédito Agrícola Mútuo, CCAM). They covered two collective agreements, each known as an ACT (Acordo Coletivo de Trabalho, a collective labour agreement): the one for the banking sector and the one for Crédito Agrícola.

• 3 percent on the salary tables, on bank pensions and on the agreements' other cash clauses.
• Backdated to 1 January 2026, ECO reports.
• Paid from November: ECO says most October salaries had already been processed, so workers will see the rise, and the back pay, with their November salary.

The banks had held to 2 percent. When the SNQTB first called the strike in September, it said the banks had told it 2 percent was their final word, and the union argued this left salaries and pensions below inflation (we reported on the strike call at the time). The unions now say "the firmness of the unions and the unity of bank workers produced results".

The communiqué does not give new figures for the minimum salary levels or the meal allowance. Both are cash clauses of the kind it says rise by 3 percent, but the updated tables were not on the SNQTB's website when we checked.

What happens to the strike

The joint communiqué says the protests and the national strike planned for 30 November "no longer take effect". It adds that action stays on the agenda only at institutions not covered by these agreements, without naming them.

Jornal de Negócios carries the same account of the deal. ECO names the two banks left out: Millennium bcp and Banco Montepio, where it says the strike remains. ECO adds that there is a strong expectation of a similar deal with both, and of the strike being cancelled there too.

What it means for bank customers

For customers of the banks covered by the APB agreement and of Crédito Agrícola, the 30 November strike is off, so there is no strike to plan around at those banks.

If you bank with Millennium bcp or Banco Montepio and need a branch on 30 November, for example to sign a mortgage deed or collect a card, it is worth checking with your bank nearer the date. A strike does not automatically close branches; the effect depends on how many staff stop work.

For bank workers and retired bank staff, the rise applies to pensions paid under the agreements as well as to salaries. How a 3 percent rise compares with prices this year is covered in our look at inflation and the minimum wage.