The HSBC Bank has been accused by the banking sector union of abusing the concept and application of the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) designed to cut down staffing.

National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) general secretary J Solomon said the bank has offered its employees the VSS many more times than any other bank within the last few years.

"Other banks such as Maybank, Bumiputera-Commerce Bank, Affin Bank, RHB Bank and Overseas Union Bank have o­nly done so o­nce in the last five years," he said when contacted today.

"In the 1999 exercise alone, HSBC received more than 1,000 applications out of a total staff strength of 5,000."

He added that the previous years' figures were unavailable.

In a statement o­n the same matter issued today, Solomon ( photo ) said HSBC had written to the union informing it of the fifth VSS to be conducted between Feb 17 and March 5, which exclude Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

He believes the bank's intention to reduce the staff to obtain 'Optimum Staffing Level' (OSL) for 2003 is to wipe out the non-clerical staff, thus depriving them of a career in the banking sector.

He said staff in this category, who reject the VSS, will be transferred to Kuala Lumpur.

"This would lead to social problems within the families being uprooted from o­ne state to another," he added.

There are 36 HSBC branches nationwide.

Uncertainty abounds

Solomon argued that the bank should have addressed the category of about 500 casual, temporary and contract staffers first before offering the VSS to permanent staff.

He was also worried that Bank Negara's blessings of the exercise would make a mockery of the banking system.

All that will be left at the state level will be the big HSBC buildings with skeletal staff, depriving the customers the convenience of banking, he said.

"We have received reports from our members that the bank will retrench staff with the approval of Bank Negara if the quota under the VSS is not fulfilled."

Solomon said recent developments have placed NUBE members under great stress, hardship and uncertainty of tenure.

The NUBE is also seeking an urgent appointment with Deputy Finance Minister Dr Jamaluddin Mohd Jarjis and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) for an amicable solution.

"In the meantime, we have advised anxious members to remain calm and not to succumb to the unwarranted threats from the bank," added Solomon.

Successful business

Stressing the union's concern over the current socio-economic and unemployment situation in the country, he said the bank's move has created a tense atmosphere within the banking industry.

"It is not conducive for enhancing industrial relations given the country's prevailing geo-political situation in the global arena."

In the statement, he noted that the bank had made a profit of RM260 million in the first quarter of its 2002 financial year and sponsored Formula 1 since the motorsports' inception, the recently-concluded 13th Non-Aligned Movement Summit and other international events.

The bank, he said, also received the 2002 Bank of the Year Award for Malaysia by the Bankers, o­ne of the world's most prominent financial intelligence magazine.

Overall, HSBC has emerged as the Global Bank of the Year and Bank of the Year for Asia-Pacific, the statement read.

"The bank should have instead spent more o­n the welfare of its employees such as providing re-training, creating new ideas and embarking o­n new ventures to retain rather than getting rid of the experienced staff," Solomon said.

Several attempts to contact the bank's management and letters sent had been met with silence.

HSBC public affairs head Elizabeth Wee, when contacted today, said in a statement faxed later this evening that the bank has declined to comment o­n the issue.