Banking unions are threatening to organise a strike at ING unless the financial services group comes up with a better pay offer.

The ultimatum expires at midday on March 13 and without a compromise, the strike will take place over two hours on March 14, the unions said on Wednesday. It would be the first strike in ING’s history.

The unions are demanding an inflation-proof pay rise for all 14,000 staff. The bank has offered 3% from October this year and 4% in 2024.

Union members voted almost unanimously for strike action at a string of meetings over the past few weeks.

‘ING booked great results last year, with gross profit up €600 million compared with 2021,’ said Inge de Vries from white collar union De Unie.

‘The company is also very positive about the prospects for 2021. But there is no fair wage rise for staff. Spending power has gone down 15% since their last salary increase in 2019. ING could opt to pay staff fairly, but instead it is rewarding shareholders.’

ING booked net profit of almost €3.7 billion in 2022.