KUALA LUMPUR - Thousands of bank employees held a protest on Saturday to demand for better job security and for performance bonuses to be paid, a news portal reported.
The protesters, who gathered outside the headquarters of Maybank, the country's biggest bank, said they may vote the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition into parliament if their demands are not met.
Members of the National Union of Bank Employees, who were present, also railed against the government's bias towards government-linked banks, reported The Malaysian Insider.
"This is a government that supports the oppression of lower level bank employees.. remember you need our mandate and we will vote you out and put in power those who will safeguard the welfare of bank employees," the union's vice-president Abdul Jamil Jalaludeen was quoted as saying.
The union has claimed that banks including Maybank and CIMB have exploited workers by withholding performance bonuses, rejecting extensions of employment beyond retirement age and punishing those who took part in union activities, said The Insider.
Union secretary general J. Solomon told The Insider that the turnout on Saturday reflects deep anger among bank employees.
"For 30 years I'm in the union, this is the first time I'm seeing such a force. This shows... members feel that they are exploited and willing to sacrifice a day to express their dissatisfaction," he was quoted as saying.
http://www.straitstimes.com/breakin...s-threaten-vote-bn-out-if-demands-unmet-20130
Chia Lat. BN kenna blackmail leow.
