M’sians Protest Outside Ipoh Bank After Worker Who Was Harassed by Supervisor for 3 Years Gets Suspended

On August 28th, bank employees held a protest outside a bank in Bercham, Ipoh, demanding justice for a colleague who was reportedly a victim of sexual harassment.

According to Harian Metro, about 100 members of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) held a picket outside the bank to draw attention to the 38-year-old victim’s situation and push for quick and fair action from the bank’s top management.

The supervisor allegedly continued to threaten her

In October 2021, the victim made an official complaint to the bank, reporting that her supervisor had sent sexually explicit and inappropriate messages via WhatsApp.

Despite the victim requesting that the supervisor stop sending offensive messages, the supervisor continued to threaten and pressure the victim, even verbally abusing them in front of customers.

“After NUBE revealed the ongoing harassment this month, the bank contacted the victim not to take action against the perpetrator but supposedly to conduct a new investigation,” said Secretary of NUBE, J Solomon.

She was suspended from work

On August 20, she refused to attend an investigation set up by the bank’s higher-ups, insisting that the issue needed to be resolved at the national level.

In response, the bank suspended her, which Solomon argues is an unfair punishment. He also said the victim recently filed a police report for her safety.

The police confirmed they received the report

Reports also mention that Ipoh District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad confirmed receiving the report from the bank’s staff.

He stated that the case is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

“The police will call in the individuals involved to provide statements and verify the allegations,” he said.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments!

Also read: Winking, Sitting at Other’s Desk are Considered Sexual Harassment at Legal Workplaces, Says M’sian Bar