International Justice Day, June 15th 2009
UNI’s Responsible Contractor Policy provides an opportunity during this financial crisis for banks such as BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and others, to regain some credibility as responsible employers with their workers, customers, shareholders and the general public.
Why banks?
Multinational banks are some of the most powerful institutions in the global economy, directly and indirectly employing millions of people, including thousands of cleaning and security workers. These banks are coming under increasing pressure to behave responsibly, following the economic crisis, where governments have been forced to provide tax-payer funds to prevent the collapse of the global financial system.
Many of these banks express public commitments to a range of "corporate responsibility" instruments and initiatives like the Equator Principles, the Global Reporting Initiative and the UN Global Compact. We are going to ask the banks to make good on these commitments by guaranteeing basic labour rights of property services workers.
If you want information about International Justice Day or UNI's Responsible Contractor Policy, contact Nadine Rae on Nadine.rae@uniglobalunion.org or phone +41 22 365 21 58.
To access the leaflet please click on "Related files".
Here are some points of interest on three global banks:
BCP Paribas
· Operates in 85 countries throughout the world with over 170,000 employees
· Received USD4.9 billion from US government via the AIG bailout
· CEO Baudouin Pout gave up his bonus for 2008, but is still reported to have received a handsome €900,000 as his salary
Deutsche Bank
· Operates in 75 countries throughout the world
· Have over 75,000 employees worldwide
· Received USD11.8 billion from US government via the AIG bailout
Royal Bank of Scotland
· Operates in 50 countries throughout the world
· Received USD700 million from US government via the AIG bailout
· Is now 68% owned by the UK Government
· Former CEO Sir Fred Goodwin received package of £1,297,000 for 2008, just before RBS announced the largest loss in UK Corporate History - £24.1 billion
· RBS report 9,000 jobs are at risk over the next 2 years