Sarawak Bank Employee Union plans to intensify protests against HSBC Bank

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KUCHING: Sarawak Bank Employees Union (SBEU) plans to intensify its statewide protests against HSBC Bank in support of bank staff affected by the bank’s decision to close its commercial banking business in the state.

The union’s general secretary Law Kiat Min said the first protest this year will be held next to Bank Negara building at Jalan Satok here starting 5.30pm this coming Monday.

In a statement issued here yesterday, he said SBEU had initially decided to halt the protests after HSBC told the union it would review its decision during a meeting in the middle of December last year.

SBEU had earlier carried out protests here and in Sibu last Nov23 and 29.

“We regret that despite protest action (last year) by our members, HSBC Bank continues to discriminate, victimise and coerce employees assigned to perform commercial banking duties to take VSS (voluntary separation scheme) and to threaten them with transfer and retrenchment.

“The bank further discriminates Sarawak employees by paying employees in West Malaysia and Sabah additional bonus, but not to Sarawak employees. SBEU has no choice but to escalate our protest actions statewide,” he said.

Law, who is also a HSBC employee, went on to say that SBEU may be forced to carry out industrial action, including strikes in all banks.

It was reported in the media last year that HSBC Bank is winding down its commercial banking business in the state as a result of its wide-ranging commercial review of the bank’s operations in the
nation.