BNP Paribas global agreement brings resolution in Taiwan

An employee at BNP Paribas Taiwan has had his suspension lifted on 17 March after intervention through UNI Global Union’s global agreement with the bank.

Mr. Wu, one of five elected employee representatives at the bank, had been suspended on 3 January 2025 for allegedly misusing company resources while attempting to organize a union among his colleagues.

Facilitated by provisions in the recently signed four-year global agreement between UNI Global Union and BNP Paribas, coordinated discussions at both local and global levels led to the successful resolution. In response to the suspension being lifted, Mr. Wu agreed to withdraw his unfair labour practice complaint filed with the Ministry of Labour.

The bank employs approximately 300 staff in Taiwan, with five elected representatives who engage with local management through regular internal social dialogue sessions.

Despite this established structure, when Mr. Wu distributed several emails to colleagues sharing information on labour rights and an official notice from the Taipei labour authority to explore the possibility of union formation in December 2024, local management launched an investigation. This investigation ultimately resulted in his suspension.

The Taiwan Federation of Financial Unions (TFFU), a UNI affiliate, provided support to Mr. Wu throughout the process and requested UNI Global Union’s intervention through the global agreement.

More encouragingly, the TFFU and BNP Paribas Taiwan’s human resource department are continuing to explore avenues of cooperation, including joint labour education sessions and the provision of information on union formation.

UNI Asia & Pacific Regional Secretary Rajendra Acharya applauded the outcome, said, “Thanks to the new and improved provisions in the global agreement, this is one of the fastest resolutions we have seen in recent times. I congratulate Mr. Wu and the local management for reconciling, and we especially appreciate the role TFFU played in this. We will support all their efforts to help form a union in BNP Paribas Taiwan.”

Photo: BNP Paribas executives meet with TFFU leadership, 13 February 2025. From left to right: Andrew Lin (Head of Human Resources, BNP Paribas Taiwan), Shrshian Hang (General Secretary, TFFU), Bruno Boussard (General Manager, BNP Paribas Taiwan), Fuchi Chung (President, TFFU), and Catta Chou (Deputy Secretary General, TFFU).