PUTRAJAYA: The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) appeal to rehear a trade union dispute between the union and a bank in the Industrial Court on grounds of coram failure, was dismissed by the Appeals Court here yesterday
A three-member panel chaired by Datuk Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad upheld the decision of a High Court which was not in favour of NUBE, and ordered the union to pay RM10,000 in legal costs to Bumiputera Commerce Bank Bhd, now known as CIMB.
Justices Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim were the other two judges presiding on the panel which unanimously dismissed NUBE’s appeal.
In her submission, NUBE’s counsel, V Kamini, urged the court to revert the matter back to the Industrial Court for a re-hearing on the grounds that there was a coram failure of the previous Industrial Court proceeding which did not take the dissenting views from the panel member representing the employee, K Brabakarun.
Lawyer Wong Keat Ching, representing the bank, submitted that there was no coram failure because Industrial Court chairman Ong Geok Lan and the two panel members, each representing the employer and employee, were present throughout the entire proceedings, including when parties were making oral submissions.
Ong was assisted by Ter Akau, who represented the employer and Brabakarun.
Wong said the Industrial Court had stated in a letter to the High Court that there were many discussions held with panel members and the meetings were amicable.
“There was no affidavit in the High Court from the panel member representing the employee (Brabakarun) to explain what his dissenting views were,” she said.
The human resources minister referred the dispute to the Industrial Court as the union wanted the bank to pay performance bonus and demanded pilgrimage leave for its Muslim union members and bank officers to be standardised.
On April 17, 2009, the Industrial Court dismissed NUBE’s claim. The union then proceeded to file a judicial review in the High Court to quash the award but it was unsuccessful. — Bernama