The government has moved to bring forward the hearing of several matters involving the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) currently pending in court, Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn said today.

A certificate of urgency was filed last week by the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"We are trying to dispose the cases so that union matters can move forward," he told reporters in Putrajaya today.

"I am waiting for the MTUC's feedback on the NUBE caretaker committee's proposal to conduct fresh elections."

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general G Rajasekaran, in a meeting with Fong early this month, had discussed plans for a fresh election to determine a legitimate leadership for the crisis-ridden banking sector union.

The minister said the only way for the NUBE issue to be properly resolved is through public pressure since both factions have failed to reach agreement.

"The NUBE members, public and the press, should bug the factions, instead of me, for a proper solution," said an exasperated Fong, who has been criticised for failing to end the crisis.

"I've been trying very hard to resolve this but the factions can't seem to agree on anything. When one agrees on something, the other tries to stop it. It is impossible to go on like this."

A 20-member caretaker committee,elected by 2,000 NUBE members from among those present at a special conference organised by the MTUC on Feb 14, submitted its proposal to Fong.

None of them are aligned to either Muhammad Fauzi Shamsuddin's group or the other led by Abdul Jalil Hamid.

Legality of procedures

The 60-day deadline set by members for fresh elections expired on April 14, but there are plans to continue pursuing the proposal regardless.

The committee's recommendations include an invitation for the Director-General of Trade Union, Mohd Zubir Mohd Basri, or any of his officers to monitor and supervise the entire process.

However, ministry sources claimed that Mohd Zubir is being non-committal, preferring to hear from the AG's Chambers on the legality of the proposed procedures for conducting fresh elections.

The committee has refused to divulge details of its recommendations, saying the MTUC is the proper body to speak on this since it brokered the deal. However, MTUC has been keeping the proposal under wraps for fear of a possible bid to thwart the move by either of the rival factions.

Insiders claimed that the faction led by Muhammad Fauzi would try to stop the fresh election on grounds that the committee, tasked with conducting the fresh polls, is not an independent body.

Rajasekaran could not be reached for comment as he is abroad.

The MTUC is aiming to halt the internal rivalry that has resulted in repeated deadlocks over the last three years, leaving the NUBE with unresolved issues on membership and collective agreements.

Several local banks, having decided to watch the NUBE slug it out in court, have since refused to entertain requests to resume negotiations on collective agreements and have allegedly victimised unionised staff.