JOHOR BAHRU | The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) staged a protest today against HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd over alleged discrimination and unresolved grievances.

Union members picketed outside the Johor Bahru branch of the bank, carrying placards highlighting their rights that had been allegedly violated and their grievances which had not been addressed.

NUBE president Tan Eng Hong alleged that the bank had disregarded harmonious industrial relations involving 300 trade disputes.

These included failure and refusal by HSBC to comply with Malaysian labour laws by interfering and attempting to control NUBE’s roles and function as a trade union.

He claimed that HSBC Malaysia was discriminatory over its workers and the company often ignored legitimate grievances raised by its employees and NUBE.

“They have outsourced work to third parties, forcing NUBE members to accept lay-offs. Union members have also been told to submit new job applications to the bank,” he told FMT.

Tan also claimed that the company had violated the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 by revealing customers’ personal data to unknown parties.

He said the union had to resort to picketing because the company had repeatedly refused to negotiate with NUBE.

“HSBC has also deliberately been avoiding negotiations with NUBE to find solutions for all the complaints that have been raised against the company.”

About 100 NUBE members took part in the protest, which lasted for over an hour.

© FMT News