This story is a wee bit old, but still worth noting. Late last year Grameen Bank, together with its founder Muhammed Yunus, was honoured with a Nobel Peace Prize because of the work it had done on on advancing micro-credit loans to some of the world’s poorest people. Grameen’s work to combat poverty is truly extraordinary. However according to the the international finance workers’ union UNI, Grameen management is fiercely antagonistic to core labour standards in its own operations.
The company has about ten thousand employees who have a legal right to belong to a trade union. In the early 1990s, workers found a trade union in Grameen Bank. The reaction of management was to disband the union and taking various repressive actions against the employees involved. This culminated in the dismissal of all workers that had been involved in union activities by the end of 1997. Since then, there has been no union in Grameen Bank. Management has aggressively foiled any new attempts to form a new union.
UNI said at the time of the award that it is deplorable that a bank, and indeed its founder Yunus, awarded for its service to society is viciously opposed to the rights of its own workers.
This apparantly looks not so good, but I guess one should be aware of the background which led to such a decision from the management.
Any related information regarding the same will be highly appreciated.