The internal crisis in the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) may have taken an early toll on six HSBC staff in Sabah who have been recently slapped with transfer letters to the peninsula out of the blue.

The six one of them a pregnant woman and others with school-going children received their marching orders on Dec 5 and will have to report to work at new places across the South China Sea on Jan 6.

Speaking to malaysiakini yesterday, Sabah Banking Employees' Union (SBEU) president Margaret Chin, who was in the capital to discuss the latest development with NUBE, said the bank's action reflected its total disregard to industrial relations and harmony.

Although SBEU does not come under the NUBE, it works closely with the latter and shares an affiliation with the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC).