More than three quarters of Spain’s banking staff staged a walkout on Friday, the country’s largest trade union has said.

According to the Workers' Commissions (CCOO), 75.8 per cent of around 80,000 banking staff took part in the strike which demands a minimum pay rise of 13 per cent over a three-year period from 2024. Strikers had previously called for a pay increase of between 17-23 per cent.

Spain’s banking association (AEB), which has offered an accumulated raise of 8.25 per cent, downplayed the number of striking workers, putting the tally at around a quarter of employees.

In a statement, the AEB said that it regretted the strike and the inconvenience it may cause: "We express our willingness to try to find the necessary meeting points that will allow us to reach an agreement in the next meetings.”

Spanish bank workers had previously protested over significant staffing cuts, but a combination of poor salary increase offers and mounting profits for the banks has seen them turn their attentions towards demanding more for their labour.

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