On behalf of NUBE I wish all members a blessed 2020 filled with joy and good health.

The dawning of New Year is time for resolutions and in 2020 we urge every bank worker irrespective of their position to focus on “utmost honesty and integrity” as a uncompromising conduct when dealing with public monies and human relations.

In Sept, 2018 at the UN General Assembly opening speech, the Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said the world is suffering from a bad case of “trust deficit disorder” with people losing faith in political establishments amid rising polarisation and populism.

He also said in his opening speech at the “Upholding the United National Charter to Maintain International Peace and Security” in January this year that, ..... “trust within and among nations is on the decline. We see this trust deficit also in streets across the world, as people vent their frustrations and voice their feelings that political establishments are out of touch, incapable or unwilling to deliver.”

In Malaysia since the new Government came to power in 2018, it is evident that the new Minister of Finance, Minister of Human Resources and the Bank Negara Governor have been making flip flop decisions. They have not assured the bank workers security of tenure instead have discriminately neutralized Banks and the workers livelihood.

We see more loss of permanent jobs among B40 and M40 with the increase of digitalization without reskilling and retraining the existing categories of workers.

Time and again corporate greed has led to some bank management to be dishonest especially in dealing with matters concerning workers in the most vulnerable category i.e.B40 and M40.

The various fora of dishonesty, misconduct and corruption in many organizations has also been revealed.

The irony is that the punishment and nature of handling such dishonesty differ depending on the status of the person concerned. In most banks the dishonesty and failures of the top management that gives rise huge losses and penalties is simply swept under the carpet.

However, in the case of trivial mistakes among B40 and M40 workers are severely punished to the extent of denying their very livelihood with a stroke of a pen even though there is no monetary loss.

Some bank managements are such a hypocrite when it comes to complying with the rights of the workers and union and they hide behind the cloak of purported “professionalism” just because they have the privilege of relying on the archaic Labour laws and unreliable authorities.

We had several meetings with some banks regarding digitalization and automation. Some banks genuinely have in place corporate strategic plans in re-skilling and up-skilling of workers whilst many banks did not.

The worst is that some of these banks that do not have such strategies inhumanly resort to under hand tactics to render our members jobless.

Remember! the fish rots from the head. The Bank officials should not only be seen as propagating “honesty” and “integrity” but must uphold and implement it for everyone irrespective of the designations in the true sense if the integrity of the bank are to be preserved.

At the same time we have an important role in preventing the collapsing of the Banks by preserving jobs as a priority. We must insist on re-skilling and retraining in order to be relevant and adoptable in the changing scenario.

In order to achieve this we must be united to defend jobs and defeat any attempts to collapse the banks, rob our jobs, dignity and livelihood. Your undivided support to NUBE in protecting the interests of all Bank workers and our families in the Banking Industry is equally critical.

We can do this by being vigilant about subtle tactics to digitalize and automate our jobs by understanding our rights at work or the least speaking up when management begin to say that they want to simplify your work.

We must be vigilant, protect ourselves against negligence by not committing silly mistakes even if there is no losses to the banks or intention of fraud in our day to day functions.

In protecting our own interests we must be honest at all times even when some top management are dishonest despite the increase of trust deficit all over the world.

NUBE will always work with Banks to ensure Banks are not collapsed by greedy policy makers and it is more important now for Banks to engage with NUBE transparently so that workers and Banks will remain relevant.

J SOLOMON
GENERAL SECRETARY