GEORGE TOWN – About 50 members of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) held a protest in front of the MBSB Bank Berhad (MBSB) building at Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here, alleging discrimination and denial of rights.
Apart from Penang, similar protests were also held simultaneously outside MBSB offices in Selangor, Perak, Melaka, and Terengganu today.
The protest for almost an hour in Penang was also interspersed with shouts of words of encouragement such as “Hidup pekerja” (long live workers), “Jangan tindas kami” (don’t oppress us) and so on, besides criticising the bank’s top management.
NUBE deputy president Abdul Jamil Jalaludeen said his party demanded the government, through the Finance Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry, to intervene to help workers at MBSB.
“MBSB is a subsidiary of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), and the government should intervene so that this issue can be resolved.
“We also demand MBSB to return immediately to the negotiating table for a social dialogue session and resolve all industry complaints,” he said.
He alleged that the management appears to be disrupting the good relations that have existed between the bank and the NUBE.
He claimed that B40 and M40 employees were prevented from joining NUBE through manipulation.
Jamil also alleged that union members were restricted from meeting union officials at the premises, even after working hours.
MBSB in a statement said they respect the rights of union members to participate in the union’s activities and the right to have a peaceful assembly.
The statement said MBSB focused on ensuring that this matter will not bring disruption to all its 47 branches within Malaysia.
“We are currently in ongoing discussions with the Industrial Relations Department of Human Resources Ministry with regards to some of the claims by the union members and will continue to seek guidance from them in our objective to resolve this matter amicably.
“MBSB Bank is committed to grow alongside the evolving banking industry, which has accelerated further due to digital transformation and the changing customer behaviour,” it said.
MBSB said that its strategy and plans are made in respect of banking ambition, and the aspiration of becoming a top progressive Islamic bank together with fellow employees.
“In line with this, MBSB will remain committed to upskilling and reskilling as part of their talent development and career progression.” – The Vibes, June 22, 2022
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