UniCredit scraps remote working for top managers, plans wider rollout, unions say

MILAN, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Italy's second-biggest bank UniCredit has scrapped remote working arrangements for CEO Andrea Orcel's direct reports with immediate effect, and plans to extend the measure next year, unions said, citing a letter from Orcel.

• In a statement released late on Tuesday, workers' representatives at UniCredit said the measure had made remote working an exception that had to be agreed in advance

• "The provision will be effectively widened to include all staff from January, with some exceptions ... which the company was not clear about," the unions said after a meeting with UniCredit management

• A spokesperson for UniCredit said the bank believed that "in-person collaboration plays an important role in fostering knowledge sharing, professional development and effective teamwork"

• UniCredit remains committed to providing flexible working arrangements, the spokesperson added

• The unions said they rejected the company's "unilateral decision", which ran counter to hopes that remote working arrangements could be extended to employees in branches as in other banking groups

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Jan Harvey)