News

During his visit to Kuala Lumpur, the UNI General Secretary met with the General Secretary of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE).

NUBE is a long standing member of UNI Global Union and its predecessor FIET. NUBE has a strong national presence and has a national collective bargaining agreement with the employers’ federation.

NUBE finds itself in a very tense situation as a result of a breakdown in negotiations over a new system of performance pay at Maybank. Maybank is the nation’s number one bank. A breakdown in negotiations has occurred and NUBE has taken its campaign to its membership and the broader public.

Action included a picket at the ILO which resulted in the dismissal of the Vice President and Treasurer of NUBE, both of whom were Maybank staff. The bank has also worked to create in-house staff association in opposition to NUBE. A flurry of court cases has been taken. UNI Global Union is alarmed and expresses its readiness to work to seek a constructive resolution.

UNI Global Union and UNI Apro are profoundly concerned at this situation and will work with NUBE Malaysia to seek a solution to this long and damaging dispute. Philip Jennings said, “It is time to return to negotiation table to restore constructive labour relations. Our members locally and globally are paying close attention to this serious dispute and are working to find a solution through negotiations to restore constructive labour relations.”