Nube accuses Maybank of firing harassment victim, ignoring racism

The National Union of Banking Employees (Nube) has criticised Maybank over two allegations, one involving the sacking of a sexual harassment victim, and a separate case where an executive allegedly made racist remarks against a clerk.

In a series of statements, the union claimed that in the first case, the victim had been sexually harassed and bullied by her superior since 2021.

According to Nube, she lodged a sexual harassment report on Oct 6, 2021, to the bank but no concrete steps were taken at first.

However, Nube indicated that a dispute settlement process took place in July this year, and Maybank reportedly agreed to launch an investigation while transferring out the alleged harasser.

On Aug 16, the union said the victim lodged a police report against the superior - which eventually led to the man being charged in court last month.

According to the union, on the same day the police report was lodged, Maybank asked the victim to attend a separate investigative interview on Aug 20.

"The victim responded to the bank stating that she had filed a sexual harassment report on Oct 6, 2021, to the bank, but no concrete action was taken against the perpetrator.

"The victim had lodged four grievances and wanted the grievance process to take its course, with the unions’ participation and did not want to bypass the grievance process and attend the investigative interview," Nube said in a statement on Monday.

The victim's refusal to attend the interview was reportedly marked as an act of insubordination which led to her suspension and eventual sacking on Oct 30.

"Nube believes the victim was unfairly terminated in a desperate attempt to prevent the victim from exposing the bank’s breach of its zero-tolerance policy, non-compliance of the internal remedies," said union general secretary J Solomon.

Racist slurs

In the second case, Nube alleged that a Maybank executive had used racist slurs against a clerk - identified only as Uva - at a branch in Perak several months ago.

"Uva was subjected to frequent harassment, rude reactions and called 'hak', a derogatory Cantonese term meaning 'black' aimed directly at belittling her because of her skin colour.

"In her distress, Uva cried for help from her manager. Yet, no action was taken to stop the abuse.

"Even after months of suffering and numerous pleas for help, Maybank management failed to act decisively, leaving Uva to endure emotional and psychological trauma," the union said in a statement last month.

The union had staged a picket over Uva's case on Oct 26.

Malaysiakini had contacted Maybank regarding both cases on Monday for a response but did not receive one that was on the record.

However, on Aug 29, when a social media campaign over Uva's case was ongoing, the bank posted a reply denying unspecified allegations by the Nube.

"While Malayan Commercial Banks' Association (MCBA) and the bank deny the allegations narrated by Nube, we would assure all stakeholders that there have been no unfair actions as alleged by Nube.

"MCBA, its member banks and Nube are undergoing various legal processes and as such, we are unable to comment further. We urge that Nube also respects the process accordingly," it said on social media.

Additional reporting by Ili Aqilah.

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