Bank sacked woman who reported sexual harassment, says union

 

On Oct 4, a bank officer was charged at the Ipoh magistrates’ court with sending obscene messages to a 38-year-old bank employee. He pleaded not guilty.

PETALING JAYA: 

A bank employee has been sacked, two months after filing a police report over alleged sexual harassment by her superior, according to a bank union.

The union has demanded that she be reinstated, while also demanding a formal apology from the bank for failing to provide her with a safe working environment.

“Instead of providing the victim all the care and support she needs after being subject to such harassment, the bank has robbed her of her livelihood and stripped away her dignity,” said J Solomon, secretary-general of the National Union of Bank Employees.

He said in a statement that the victim, a bank teller, was sacked on Oct 30, after being suspended since August for allegedly failing to attend an investigative interview with the bank.

J Solomon.

Solomon said the woman had wanted to go through the grievance process with the bank and union after filing a report in October 2021, to which no action had been taken. He had previously accused the bank of refusing to meet for discussions to find a resolution after the victim filed her report on the alleged sexual harassment.

In August, some 120 union members staged a peaceful picket outside a bank in Bercham in protest against the bank’s handling of the sexual harassment case involving its employee. Solomon said the picket was to raise public awareness about the case and to demand prompt action from the bank.

On Oct 4, a 52-year-old bank officer was charged at the Ipoh magistrates’ court with two counts of sending obscene WhatsApp messages to the 38-year-old victim in 2021. He was released on bail after pleading not guilty. - FMT