THE National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) Malaysia will accept the mediation offered by the United Kingdom National Contact Point (UK NCP) to address the complaints made against HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, said NUBE secretary-general J. Solomon today.

Solomon said he welcomes UK NCP’s decision, which is an indication of a strong basis to mediate the complaints made by NUBE and UNI Global Union.

“The objective of mediation is for parties to reach an agreement to address and resolve the issues accepted by the UK NCP.

“NUBE has accepted the mediation to see a resolution in the best interest of its members,” he said in statement today.

UK NCP is under the International Trade Department. It is responsible for promoting the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines for multinational enterprises on responsible business conduct and operating the guidelines’ complaints mechanism.

Two weeks ago, UK NCP agreed to accept the complaints of NUBE and UNI Global Union on HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd’s unfair treatment of bank workers.

In July, NUBE lodged 93 reports against HSBC Bank Malaysia chief executive officer Stuart Milne for retrenching workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bank in response said it is making changes to the bank that will involve the creation of more than 200 new roles to adapt to the evolving banking landscape. This will include redeploying people into the new roles.

Solomon said HSBC has breached six guidelines by deliberately delaying negotiations during collective bargaining, harassing and victimising NUBE members and union representatives for their participation in industrial action, denying union representatives entry to workplaces for the purpose of meeting union members, failing to appropriately engage in dispute resolution proceedings, undertaking an outsourcing process including “forced” VSS/MSS and failing to consult with NUBE ahead of this process, and denying NUBE members and employees access to their workstations and work.

He said his organisation was forced to bring the issue to the attention of UK NCP after local authorities failed to help find solutions to issues raised in the past years.

“NUBE and UNI Global Union will provide further cooperation to UK NCP, and we are optimistic that a positive and constructive resolution will be made in the best interests of NUBE members and bank employees in Malaysia.” – October 3, 2021.