The National Union of Bank Employees (Nube) has stepped up pressure for the transfer of the director-general of the Trade Union Affairs Department because of her “interference” in its affairs.

Nube lodged a complaint against Omana Pillai today at in various Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) offices, as part of a nationwide protest against her.

Northern region branch secretary Santokh Singh led seven union leaders representing Penang, Kedah and Perlis to the PCB office in George Town, Penang, this afternoon, to submit their complaint.

nube bank employee union penang trade union affair dept complaint report 120509 04 Santokh said the union’s objection to Omana relates to her public revelation of “false details” on the sale and purchase of Nube properties two years ago.

“We want the PCB to probe our complaint and take the appropriate action, as well as to clear our name,” Santokh told journalists after submitting the complaint to PBC director Md Din Jusoh.

Md Din was not available for comment. However, Santokh said the PCB director had assured the union that the complaint would be investigated with “a sense of urgency”.

The letter of complaint was supported by some 1,000 signatures. The northern region branch has about 3,300 members.

Last month, Omana had said in a press statement that union-owned land in Kajang Country Heights had been sold at RM1.5 million and that the union had subsequently bought a three-storey building in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, for RM5 million in 2007.

Arguing that Omana failed to get her facts right, Santokh claimed that the land was sold at only RM1 million and the building cost only RM4.2 million.

“The transactions were done according to trade union laws, and sale and purchase procedures,” he said, noting that Omana has yet to produce documentary evidence to back her assertions.

Cause of unhappiness

Santokh, also a Nube central executive council member, said the union is also unhappy that the department had lodged a “false police report” against it over three issues - alleged failure to hand over documents and audited accounts, sale of the land in Kajang and purchase of the building in Brickfields.

nube bank employee union penang trade union affair dept complaint report 120509 01 “We have extended our fullest cooperation to ministry officials and provided them with all necessary documents to help their investigations into various complaints and issues that have cropped up,” he said.

He said the union has also extended cooperation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on the same matter.

On April 21, the union had submitted a letter of complaint to the Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam demanding that Omana be made to clarify her allegations, as well as insisting on her transfer.