Netherlands: FNV Mondial and ASN Bank launch initiative to support a women’s union in India

The FNV Mondial launched a partnership with the ASN Bank, created in 1960 by Dutch unions and the Reaal insurance group, specialized in “durable” and socially responsible investments. The trade union is going to receive 5 euros for every new saver opening an account by its intermediary at the ASN Bank, a group based in The Hague, which accounts for 480,000 customers and yields €3.8bn in sales every year. The savers sent by the FNV will receive a €20 welcome bonus and ASN Bank employees are entitled to free training on their rights. For its part, the FNV is going to spend the money gathered to support the Sewa union, created in India in 1972 and which received the Right Livelihood Award in 1984. The Sewa, which represents 966,000 members, half of them in the Gujarat State, was identified as one of the most important structures in India for the defense of vulnerable women, mostly small self-employed storekeepers operating in the informal sector.