Company
BNP Paribas Group
Date of signature
November 4, 2024 (renewal of a first agreement signed on September 18, 2018)
Signatories
BNP Paribas Group Human Resources Director of the Group, UNI Global Union General Secretary with the contribution of European Federation of Managers in the Banking Sector (FECEC); members of the Bureau of the Group's European Works Council; representative trade union organisations at the BNP Paribas Group level in France: CFDT (Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail) and CFE-CGC (Confédération Française de l'Encadrement- Confédération Générale des Cadres)
Key objectives
“The parties want to use this new agreement to reinforce and support their dialogue and their commitment in favour of compliance with internationally recognised human rights and fundamental labour rights, including the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Through this agreement, they also want to support the pursuit of sustainable growth for BNP Paribas' activities and implement a continuous, positive and shared improvement approach for developing satisfactory working conditions for the employees in the countries where the Group exercises its activities. “
Duration
“This agreement shall apply for a period of 4 (four) years starting on 1 December 2024. It can be terminated by one of the parties in writing in compliance with a six-month notice period. The parties agree to meet 6 (six) months before the expiration of this agreement in order to agree on the particulars, themes and schedule for renewing it. “
Implementation and dissemination
“This agreement can be supplemented by the entities of BNP Paribas Group, in particular to meet their specificities, by taking account of the procedures or agreements that are already in place as well as laws that are specific to the country, without however it being possible to derogate from this agreement, in a less favourable direction.
It is not possible to accumulate existing or future legal or conventional measures with the provisions of this agreement that have the same purpose. If there are differences in a measure, the most favourable measure must be applied.”
(…)
“The parties shall communicate this agreement to all their respective organisations and structures of the Group's entities.
This agreement shall be communicated to all the Group's employees, via information online in particular on the intranet pages of the Group and other countries, no later than 30 Novembre 2024. “
Review and monitoring
“The parties agree to create a joint commission in charge of monitoring the implementation of this agreement and the commitments made, identifying good practices and where applicable the actions to ensure promotion of it and, under the conditions defined in Chapter 2 of this agreement, form the framework within which UNI Global Union can contribute to the continuous improvement in the diligence on the HR pillar of the Group's vigilance plan.
Taking account of the participants in the negotiations which have resulted in the signing of this agreement, the parties agree that the commission is comprised in a balanced manner of:
- Representatives of the Group (Human Resources Department of BNP Paribas Group who may solicit other persons in the Group whose presence is deemed useful, especially to provide clarification to the members of the Commission);
- representatives of UNI Global Union, up to 7 representatives;
- and in the presence of representatives:
- of FECEC (1 representative),
- of the Group's European Works Council (1 representative, who is necessarily a member of the Bureau of the Group's European Works Council),
- and of representative trade union at the Group level in France, with a limit of 1 representative per representative union organisation over this perimeter.
Prior to this meeting, no later than 15 days before it, the Group's Human Resources Department will send an assessment for the elapsed year of the deployment of this agreement, based on the indicators defined by the parties of this agreement. This assessment can be supplemented with information collected in the framework of the Group's Social Reporting, in particular for the purposes of drawing up the Reference Document.
The monitoring commission meets once a year during the third quarter of the year. It also meets under the conditions defined in Chapter 2 of this agreement on the due diligence plan.”
Dispute settlement and sanctions
“In case of difficulty encountered in implementing the agreement, the parties agree that seeking a solution as close as possible to the field must be favoured. Specific problems concerning employees or local conflicts that in particular concern collective bargaining remain subject to local procedures for settling conflicts. Recourse beyond the local procedure can be considered only when the issue refers to a right or a standard that is established in this agreement and in the case where, despite seeking a solution at the local level, including amongst the social partners (local Management and unions set up and/or recognised according to local regulations and/or the other staff representatives if they exist), a difficulty in applying this agreement were to persist, then, according to the case:
- UNI Global Union can raise the issue with the Director of Social Affairs and the Group's Human Resources Director so that it can be resolved,
- the representatives of the Human Resources Department can raise the issue with UNI Global Union so that it can be resolved,
and this, before any external communication by one or the other of the signatories and of the parties concerned by the issue. The signatory shall strive to provide a response within three months. The monitoring commission will moreover be informed of these steps.
This difficulty then gives rise to an investigation, without delay and in an open and transparent manner, to collect the elements from the entity concerned by the dispute at the local level. If at the end of this investigation, it is proven that there are failures in complying with a right or a standard established in this agreement, the Group's Human Resources Department or UNI Global Union, according to the case, must ensure that measures to remedy this are taken.
At the request of one or the other of the parties and subject to a joint agreement on the appropriate nature of such an approach and its particulars, a presentation of the agreement and its content in the country where a conflicting situation is observed can be carried out.
If the issue is still not resolved, it may be brought before the monitoring commission, either during its annual meeting if the date is not too far into the future, or during an exceptional meeting.
In the event the parties cannot resolve a dispute concerning the application of this agreement after having discussed it during the meeting of the monitoring commission, the dispute can be submitted to a mediator.”
A detailed process for agreeing on the mediator is laid down in the agreement.
Related text
2018 BNP Paribas Agreement on fundamental rights and global social framework
Main topics
Human rights, trade union rights, social dialogue,, employment and skills management, teleworking, non-discrimination and equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, global social protection floor, global program for health and wellness, due diligence on human rights (vigilance plan)