IPOH, June 22 — About 50 members of the National Union of Bank Employees (Nube) staged a protest against MBSB Bank Bhd in front of the bank’s branch at Persiaran Greenhill here today over alleged discrimination and abuse by the bank management towards its workers.
Arrayed in their blue and white union t-shirt, the protestors held up placards and banners, while chanting hidup pekerja, bangkit pekerja (live workers, rise workers), ‘MBSB, down down’. Police personnel was seen in the area to monitor the situation to prevent any untoward incident.
Nube branch secretary Edwin Salomon said that the union had no choice but to take to the streets with its protest as MBSB’s top management has deliberately refused to resolve the grievances raised by the employees.
Edwin also said Nube had written many letters to the top management to negotiate and discuss the problems faced by the workers but they have been ignored.
In their protest today, Nube also highlighted a list of alleged union-busting actions by the acting CEO and CPO, namely by denying the one-time financial assistance of RM1,000 to B40 and M40 Nube workers, manipulating workers designation and job description to obstruct them from joining Nube, failing to deduct their union dues of the Digital Ambassadors who joined Nube despite being promised and refusing to accord the benefit of lower housing loan interest rate for members according to the Collective Agreement.
Edwin said that Nube is demanding that MBSB engage in a social dialogue to resolve all industrial complaints.
"We also want the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), as a major shareholder of MBSB to terminate Azam and Farid in order to safeguard the interests of MBSB employees and EPF contributors,” he said.
Similar pickets were also held simultaneously from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at four other MBSB branches nationwide namely in Selangor, Penang, Melaka and Terengganu.
