The suicides took place in people's homes. Two employees of the Bank of France took their own lives in June. One of the two pointed in a letter to the working conditions to explain his action. When contacted, the bank confirmed the two suicides and said that "the procedure is ongoing, respectful of people and independent". The results of the survey are expected by the end of October.
"This is naturally a tragedy, to which we are all sensitive and very attentive" and "the bank will of course strengthen all the necessary measures, if necessary, to prevent as much as possible these situations of great distress that affect us deeply," said the management in a message sent Wednesday to all employees. A psychological cell has been set up.
An exceptional meeting of the central social and economic committee on the subject took place on 11 September, at the end of which the elected representatives of the staff denounced the refusal of the management to respond to their demands, and in particular to take a break in the reforms. A new meeting is to be held on October 4 where the trade unions should vote "an expertise for serious and imminent danger on the entire perimeter of the bank," said the CGT, the first union.
In 2021, 4 out of 10 employees indicated that they were under stress
The two employees who ended their lives worked within the fiduciary sector (which delivers and collects notes and coins) a "sector that lives in permanent insecurity", with regular site closures, denounced Hugo Coldeboeuf, union delegate of the CGT Bank of France, evoking "a real concern of a risk France Telecom". In reference to the series of employee suicides experienced by the company in the 2000s.
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"We have testimonies (from employees) that come back to us, we feel that it has freed the word," he adds, recalling that all unions have been denouncing for years the deterioration of working conditions within the bank, which has reduced its workforce by 25% since 2015.
In a 2021 report on psychosocial risks, four out of ten employees indicated that they were under stress, and the situation has largely deteriorated since 2011, with the risks of "pressure, intimidation", "value conflict", "uncertainty about the future" and "meaning and interest of work".
