In a humbly decorated hall of a hotel in the midst of a working class location of Kuala Lumpur, the National Union of Bank Employees (Nube) and its members managed a little celebration today after more than a year of tough engagements with employers.

Nube's members from Sabah and Sarawak were also present to join in this simple celebration.

A bilateral agreement was reached between Nube and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) today in a ceremony that saw the bank's human resource manager Adrian Groom and union president S Sivabalan ink their signatures.

The agreement means that HSBC will recognize the rights of the Customer Service Bankers' staff, a new category introduced by banks with higher salary paid compared to the standard clerical salary, to involvement with and enjoy the benefits that Nube can offer.

Nube has been negotiating with HSBC for more than a year in its bid to include the new staff category within the definitive scope of the union.

In his speech at the event, Groom said that "HSBC is proud to witness a historic moment where a cooperative conclusion has been achieved and we believe this will significantly increase the standard of services in the customer service sector."

Complementing Groom, Sivabalan stressed that "the event today is an indication that employers should not fear us and dialogue is always good for both bank employers and union."

"Unions must try various methods and not just be confrontational for them to reap the benefits. Again, see what we can achieve with communication," the Nube president added.

The ceremony then continued with Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, president of Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) stressing "the need for employers to make decisions, albeit a bold one and might not appease all sectors, but it will get us somewhere as it is the first step."

Will other banks follow?

Asked for his personal thoughts of this event, Sivabalan told malaysiakini that he hoped other banks will follow through.

"This event shows that employers (in this case HSBC) are willing to take greater responsibilities and ensure that this new category will enjoy better remuneration and security and this is historic," he said.

Sivabalan added that other banks have yet to follow suit on the move taken by HSBC with ongoing discussions in some and refusal to meet the unions in others.

On a separate matter, the Nube president disclosed that the union has been in constant negotiation with the Malaysian Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) on a 30 percent salary increment.

"Banks are getting annual profit increase of about 18 percent and that's a lot, why can't we get an increment when the government sector is enjoying it?

"We are going all out on this increment issue and I personally think MCBA will concur with our demands," Sivabalan added.