A letter the bank’s board sent to workers said that the temporary changes to wages had meant hundreds of jobs had been saved and those who left the company did so under better conditions.

Workers at BCP who earn more than €1,000 have had their wages cut by between 3% and 11% for the past three years as part of the restructuring package agreed with Brussels following the bailout. It also involved closing branches and laying off thousands of workers in a programme involving early retirement and mutual agreement dismissals.