PUTRAJAYA, May 3 — The ongoing dispute between the Malayan Commercial Banks’ Association (MCBA) and the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) will be resolved in the Industrial Court, the Department of Industrial Relations (JPPM) said.

In a statement today, JPPM said it received two complaints of industrial disputes between MCBA and NUBE related to the "Bantuan Perayaan” (Festive Aid) on February 5 and negotiations for the 20th Collective Agreement (covering the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026) on April 3.

On the festive aid issue, JPPM said it took action under Section 18(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177] by convening conciliation meetings to seek a resolution to the disputed issues.

"JPPM held three conciliation meetings for the festive aid dispute on February 19, March 21 and March 27. However, no settlement was reached by both parties.

"On April 3, MCBA informed JPPM that the festive aid payments had been implemented on April 2 and 3 for employees under NUBE’s membership scope, which included one month’s salary for non-executive employees and 0.5 month’s salary for executive and special grade employees,” it said.

According to JPPM, these payments were also extended to officers under the Association of Bank Officers Peninsular Malaysia (ABOM) membership scope, amounting to RM1,500.

JPPM said that despite the festive aid payments being made, NUBE continued its protest and attacks through social media platforms, which MCBA viewed as not in line with the Procedures for MCBA/NUBE 20th Collective Agreement (2024-2026) Negotiations agreed upon by both parties on January 22.

MCBA subsequently requested JPPM to refer the festive aid issue to the Industrial Court via a letter dated April 3.

In light of this, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim referred the complaint to the Industrial Court under Section 26(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 on April 16 for a decision as both parties failed to resolve the matter.

On the negotiations for the 20th Collective Agreement, JPPM said it conducted two conciliation meetings on April 15 and 23, but NUBE did not attend both meetings despite MCBA’s willingness to continue negotiations to resolve the collective agreement issue.

According to the statement, NUBE’s absence from the conciliation meetings scheduled by the department led to a deadlock in the collective agreement negotiations.

As a result, MCBA informed JPPM that no resolution could be reached on the 20th Collective Agreement issue and requested a further referral to the Industrial Court for a resolution.

The human resources minister referred this industrial dispute complaint to the Industrial Court under Section 26(2) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 on April 29 for a fair and just decision to safeguard the interests of the parties involved.

Meanwhile, according to JPPM, no meetings or negotiations have been held by the human resources minister with MCBA regarding the festive aid or the collective agreement with MCBA and NUBE.

"This dispute is being managed professionally by JPPM in accordance with the legal provisions under Act 177,” the statement read further. — Bernama