Malayan Commercial Banks' Association (MCBA) said it was compelled to stop deducting union fees due to conflicting instructions given to the banks by two factions of the National Union of Bank Employees, who both claimed to be the legitimate faction.

In a press statement today, MCBA president Nik Hassan Nik Mohd Amin said there was an "uncertainty in the leadership" of the union since the middle of the year as the issue is still pending in court.

"MCBA has been put to notice by one faction of the legal consequences if the banks continue to remit trade union subscription to the office of the union which this faction says is being "illegally occupied" by the other faction," he said.

"As the director-general of Trade Unions is unable to decide which faction is the legitimate one in view of the court actions and stay orders, the banks are thus forced to grant leave facilities according to the Collective Agreement to representatives of both factions," he added.

Nik Hassan's response came following the picket by more than 200 employees outside Bumiputra-Commerce Bank in Kuala Lumpur today to protest against the decision by MCBA to stop deduction of union fees.

Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn and the director-general of Trade Unions Izhar Harun are classifying the dispute by the two factions inside the NUBE as an internal matter which the unions must resolve.