Banks in China Urged by Union to Set Up Chapters, FT Reports

The All China Federation of Trade Unions met banks including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to encourage the lenders to set up union chapters for workers in China and to pay a tax to fund the activities, the Financial Times said, citing executives familar with the talks.

Representatives from UBS AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were also called into the meetings last month at which they were told they may be required to pay a 2 percent payroll tax to fund the labor activities, the report said. Officials at the union and representatives of the banks declined to comment on the discussions, the FT said.