LETTER | Dismantle bank cartels to enable Festive Aid for B40, M40 groups

LETTER | The National Union of Bank Employees (Nube) welcomes the government's commitment to protecting workers' welfare in correlation with profit gains.

However, it's disheartening to see that government-linked company (GLC) banks are not in sync with governmental objectives.

The lack of alignment becomes evident when GLCs’ actions are contrary to government directives, like “nailing jelly to the wall”.

A recent refusal by banks to provide one month's base salary as Festival Aid to the B40 and M40 groups clearly illustrates this defiance.

The banks’ arbitrary decision is in breach of an existing agreement with Nube that was established last year, aimed at supporting employees during major religious festivals like Hari Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, and Christmas.

The agreement stipulates a minimum of one month's salary as Festival Aid, with the option for banks to offer more if they choose.

Despite an agreement to review the payment in 2024, the Malayan Commercial Banks' Association (MCBA) unilaterally set a maximum capacity of RM500 for the aid, disregarding the agreed-upon terms.

This decision is unfounded, especially considering a 15% increase in worker productivity coming from the financial sector between 2021-2023 compared to 2018-2020, resulting in higher revenue per worker.

Given these profit margins, banks are more than capable of providing more than one month’s salary for Festival Aid to its employees.

The reduction in Festival Aid, particularly with the upcoming Chinese New Year, places undue financial strain on employees who anticipated the agreed-upon support.

This decision, primarily made by representatives from GLCs, reflects a grave injustice to the B40 and M40 of all bank workers and is indicative of corrupt practices that entrench lower and middle-income groups in financial hardship.

We urge Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who also serves as the finance minister, to address these exploitative practices by dismantling such corrupt bank cartels.

This action is crucial to aligning the banking sector's practices with the government's worker welfare objectives and ensuring equitable profit sharing.

J SOLOMON is the general secretary of the National Union of Bank Employees (Nube).

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.