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National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) and UNI Global & HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad (HBMY)
Lead NCPUnited Kingdom
Supporting NCP(s)
DescriptionSpecific instance alleging a non-observance of the OECD Guidelines.
Theme(s)Employment and industrial relations
Date30 Dec 2021
Host country(ies)Malaysia
SourceTrade Union
Industry sectorFinancial and insurance activities
StatusIn progress
Summary

Read the Initial Statement published 15 September 2021: English

On 30 December 2020, the Malaysian trade union, National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), and the global union federation, UNI Global, submitted a specific instance to the UK NCP alleging that HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad (HBMY), a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings Plc, a British multinational investment bank and financial services company, had not observed the Employment and Industrial Relations (Chapter V) provisions of the Guidelines.

Specifically, the submission included the following issues relating to Chapter V of the Guidelines:

  • deliberately delaying negotiations during collective bargaining
  • harassing and victimising NUBE members and union representatives for participating in actions taken in response to the breakdown in negotiations
  • denying union representatives entry to HBMY for union member meetings
  • not engaging appropriately in dispute resolution proceedings with NUBE
  • failing to consult with NUBE ahead of undertaking an outsourcing process
  • denying NUBE member employees access to their workstations and work

On 15 September 2021, the NCP published an initial statement deciding to partially accept the case. The NCP will not consider issues relating to paragraph 4a (observing standards of employment and industrial relations not less favourable than those observed by comparable employers in the host country) or paragraph 7 (relating to bona fide negotiations with worker’s representatives) because the issues were not material and substantiated.

The NCP has temporarily suspended the handling of the specific instance due to parallel procedures. The NCP will re-engage with the parties in 6 months for an update.