Hong Kong bank workers set up trade union

After the sacking of a lawyer at French investment bank BNP Paribas, Hong Kong bank employees are setting up a trade union as the city’s ongoing protests show no signs of abating.

The Hong Kong Financial Industry Employees General Union has now completed registration under the city’s trade unions ordinance. While it currently has about 20 members, it hopes to increase the number to 1,000 in a year.

The new trade union’s founding statement says its goal is: “To maintain Hong Kong’s core values and international status, the financial sector should not keep silent any longer.” It wants to unite fellow members in the financial-services sector to have a voice in important social topics.

The founding of the union is in direct response to rising tensions in the city between companies and their employees. Since markers were laid down with dismissals at Cathay Pacific Airways, organisations have been quick to warn staff about speaking out in support of the protestors.

Hong Kong’s financial services sector is an integral part of its economy, much like Singapore’s, and attracts major global banks and the growing band of large Asian players.