The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) today announced a three-day cooling-off period from their dispute with commercial banks, but warned of tougher action to come should the banks refuse to cooperate with them to bring back industrial harmony.

Speaking to the media after chairing the national executive council meeting today, NUBE president Abdul Jalil Abdul Hamid said the union has only been taking the "soft approach" so far despite the poor response from the Malayan Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) on their demands.

The actions taken thus far included sending a memorandum to Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn last month and holding a daily nationwide picket since last Thursday until today.