KUALA LUMPUR – The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) and UNI Global Union lauded the decision of the UK National Contact Point (UK NCP) to “partially accept” complaints made against HSBC Malaysia.
In its initial assessment, the UK NCP said “the decision made by the UK NCP is not a finding against HSBC Malaysia and does not mean that the UK NCP considers the company has acted inconsistently with its guidelines”.
Meanwhile, HSBC Malaysia in a statement said: “The changes we are making to our bank are creating 200 new roles and changing current ones. We are actively redeploying our people into new roles and, where this is not possible, HSBC offers above-market voluntary separation schemes (VSS), further job transition training and outplacement support.
“Some issues presented to the UK NCP are currently under review by the Malaysian courts and the Human Resources Ministry. HSBC will continue to be bound by the applicable legal and legislative process.
“In the best interests of all parties, we feel it is appropriate to conclude the existing Malaysia-based mediation and judicial review before embarking on further and separate mediation.”
The bank added that the VSS scheme is only applied to employees who choose to accept it.
Earlier today, NUBE secretary-general J. Solomon had said in a statement that the union “welcomes the decision, which directly indicates that there is a strong basis for complaints made to the UK NCP”.
“NUBE and UNI Global Union will provide further cooperation to the UK NCP, and we are optimistic that a positive and constructive decision will be made in the best interests of NUBE members and bank employees in Malaysia.
“NUBE was forced to bring the issue to the attention of the UK NCP as local authorities, including the Human Resources Ministry, the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia, had failed to help find constructive solutions to issues raised over the past years.”
Last Wednesday, the UK NCP for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises decided to partially accept the complaint from the NUBE and UNI Global Union about HSBC Malaysia.
After its initial assessment, the UK NCP will proceed with investigations relating to three out of the five articles of the guidelines cited in the complaints. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines) are recommendations from governments to multinational enterprises on responsible business conduct.
According to the UK NCP, the complainants have provided sufficient information for it to conclude that some of the issues identified merit further examination.
“The UK NCP will formally ask the parties whether they are willing to engage in mediation with the aim of resolving the issues. Subject to their response, the UK NCP will liaise with the parties to arrange mediation meetings.
“If these meetings achieve a resolution, the UK NCP will reflect this in a final statement without making a determination on whether the enterprise acted consistently with the guidelines.
“If a mediated/conciliated solution is not possible, the UK NCP will conduct a further examination into the issues and will reflect the outcome in a final statement that will include a determination on whether HSBC Malaysia acted consistently with the OECD guidelines,” UK NCP said in its initial assessment.
Filed in December last year, complaints were made against HSBC Malaysia over alleged unfair treatment towards bank workers and failure to respect labour laws and collective agreements signed in Malaysia. – The Vibes, September 19, 2021
