Maybank staff made redundant by the bank's move to outsource its infrastructure services section have decided to accept the bank's new termination offer, and take on alternative employment offered by the bank's new IT vendor.

Despite strong daily lunch-hour pickets in front of the bank's headquarters since last Thursday, more than half of the 290 infrastructure services staff have chosen to accept the additional one month ex-gratia termination payment offered by Maybank on Thursday.

"Many had backed out at the last minute, so based on (the lack of strength) we have decided to call off (the decision not to accept employment with the outsourcing firm)," said an affected staff who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Only less than half

Without a show of at least 150 to 160 hands, the group would not be able to collectively pressure the bank management to improve its terms of severance, said the senior employee.

As of yesterday, only 120 employees were willing to delay joining CSA, less than half the total employees in the division, and a radical drop from an initial 200 individuals who protested.

This shift came in the heels of Maybank's offer of an additional ex-gratia sum equivalent to one month's salary on Tuesday - made in a meeting with employees and industrial relations director-general Ismail Abdul Rahim - following strong protest from the employees.

Under the RM1.3 billion outsourcing deal, CSA, a local affiliate of US-firm CSC, had offered to employ all of Maybank's infrastructure services staff made redundant by the move.

Maybank claimed that this removes their obligation to pay retrenchment benefits, as the staff can be considered as effectively "transferred" to CSA.

Parting ex-gratia

Instead, the bank had on Sept 30 offered a parting ex-gratia payment of three months' salary to all staff, irrespective of their years of service.

However, a majority of the affected staff disputed the terms, claiming that the ex-gratia failed to consider that more than half have served between 10 to 20 years with the bank, and they were not offered a choice to be transferred to other departments within the bank.

Their move to CSA would effectively take them out of employment by a major Malaysian bank, and force them to face a riskier future with another firm, they had alleged.

Despite this, 289 individuals are expected to begin employment with CSA this Monday.