Fifteen unionised Bumiputera Commerce Bank (BCB) employees who were suspended and recently issued show-cause letters, have claimed that the bank has breached regulations governing trade disputes.

All members of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), they were suspended through letters dated Oct 28, Nov 10 and Nov 13. They have denied all the allegations contained in the letters, including a charge of unlawful picketing.

Among those affected is J Solomon, the general-secretary aligned to Abdul Jalil Hamid's group in NUBE.

The faction issued a joint reply on behalf of the 15 on Nov 21 to BCB human resource senior vice-president Munira M Salinger, explaining why they should be spared disciplinary action. Bank officials were not available for comment today.

The group maintains that no unlawful picketing had taken place on Oct 21 since it had been conducted outside the bank premises during the lunch hour.

The 15, Solomon said, had only gone back into the premises for a short break during the picket, and later returned to their work stations.

Contacted today, he said: "We will resume picketing next Monday. From Dec 10, all our members in BCB will wear protest badges.

"We will then follow up with the police and Bank Negara on the reports we lodged on outsourcing , as there has not been any progress on this as yet."

Provisions 'breached'

In the reply which he signed, Solomon claimed that the BCB letters have violated the "relevant provisions of the current Malayan Commercial Banks' Association/NUBE collective agreement".

He said the bank's action also violated Sections 5(1) and 59(d), (e) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 which governs trade disputes.

The letter said the picket was in compliance with a proviso under Section 40(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1959.

"If you persist in your unlawful action, we can assure you of an appropriate retaliation by legal industrial action," it added.

Solomon added that he hoped good sense would prevail in the interest of industrial harmony in the banking sector.

Unionised BCB members have been picketing since Oct 9 following a failure by the parties to reach an agreement on a long list of outstanding issues.

The NUBE has claimed that BCB has refused to entertain a two-year-old dispute with employees over demands for more benefits in line with those received by top management.

Recent developments - the expiry of the BCB employees' collective agreement last December and the on-going NUBE leadership crisis - have compounded the situation.

The union is also opposed to BCB's move to outsource its backroom operations, which it has described as a union-busting measure.

Read NUBE's clarification here .