Ex-gratia payment: BCB gets deadline from NUBE
The National Union of Bank Employees has given the management of Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Bhd (BCB) until 5pm next Monday to decide on the issue of ex-gratia payment for union members.
Unless BCB conveys its boards final decision to the Industrial Relations Department, the union will proceed to take whatever trade union action it deems necessary and appropriate, said NUBE general secretary J Solomon in a statement today.
Solomon said the BCB representatives were not in a position to give a final decision at a meeting yesterday.
According to them, the management has put up certain proposals to its board but the board has not made any decision yet.
Our stand is that the discontinuance of the ex-gratia payment to members (clerical and non-clerical) is tantamount to discrimination against them in as much as the bank continues to make payments to the executives and higher categories of staff, he said.
Yesterday, both parties met for the second time at a meeting convened by the Industrial Relations Department in Putrajaya, but nothing was concluded.
The first meeting on Feb 18 had also failed to bear fruit on several outstanding issues, but an assurance was given to the NUBE that BCB would revert to it on the ex-gratia issue in 10 days.
There are approximately 6,000 NUBE members in the bank.
Non-core operations
Until two years ago, the management of the former Bank of Commerce and BCB had made the payments to all staff regardless of category, said Solomon.
He said the banks argument that ex-gratia is only paid to categories which do not receive bonus holds no water, and that to discontinue it after having paid it all these years amounted to actually victimising lower income staff.
This is causing growing discontentment, stress and a feeling of uncertainty among the members. All these are bound to have a deleterious effect not only on the morale but also on productivity.
Any further delay in resolving this matter will aggravate the situation, he added.
On the outsourcing of non-core banking operations by BCB, the other thorn in the unions side, Solomon said NUBE had requested the bank to shelve the implementation of the second phase on the plan for three weeks.
We briefed the Industrial Relations Department and the bank on the clarification we had sought from Bank Negara on the interpretation of core and non-core functions.
We have also organised a national symposium for all unions in the banking industry to examine and consider appropriate action, including legal, before taking up the matter with the prime minister, he said.
Branch elections
Meanwhile, NUBE is gearing up for branch elections at the end of this month.
Solomons Camp B is attempting to oust union president Johar Sulaimans Camp A with the support of the Kuala Lumpur branch members and a minority group within the NUBE national executive council.
The Kuala Lumpur branch has the largest membership of about 14,000 members.
Six of the10 major local and foreign banks in Kuala Lumpur have nominated a Dream Team to oust the incumbent branch committee following a series of alleged mismanagement of funds at the branch and exco level.
The NUBE has nine branches and a total membership of 29,000.
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