MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

ON

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

 BETWEEN

 SARAWAK COMMERCIAL BANKS’ ASSOCIATION

 AND

 SARAWAK BANK EMPLOYEES’ UNION

 SIGNED THIS 03 OCTOBER 2007

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE 

1.0    Foreword 

1.1          As responsible business organisations, the member banks of Sarawak Commercial Banks Association (SCBA) are committed to providing a safe and harmonious working environment for all its employees.  As such, all forms of sexual harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated and the SCBA and its member banks are committed to helping to prevent and eradicate it.  In this regard, this Code of Practice has been established in its efforts to prevent and eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace. 

1.2          Please note that any employee who breaches this Code of Practice shall be liable to face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.  All employees, including those in a supervisory or managerial capacity have a duty to comply with this Code of Practice and indeed, demonstrate leadership by example. 

1.3         All employees of the member banks of SCBA, including trade union representatives and senior management have a responsibility to ensure that the Code of Practice is implemented to help create a climate at the workplace which is free from sexual harassment. 

1.4         It is important for all employees to be familiar with the contents of this Code of Practice.   

1.5         The Code of Practice is issued in collaboration with, and has the full support of Sarawak Bank Employees’ Union and Sarawak Commercial Banks Association. 

CODE OF PRACTICE

ON THE PREVENTION AND ERADICATION

OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

1.0        AIM

The aim of this Code of Practice is to provide guidelines to prevent and eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace.

2.0        RATIONALE

2.1          The Bank should be a safe, comfortable and conducive work environment for all employees. All employees should be treated with dignity and respect and everyone has a responsibility to uphold these values to create a supportive work environment.

2.2           Sexual harassment adversely affects work performance, productivity, morale and therefore, the general work environment. It also adversely affects the Bank's corporate image. It is therefore in all our interests to see that this issue is addressed promptly and effectively. The establishment of this Code of Practice on sexual harassment will allow everyone to be able to identify its occurrence and be aware of their responsibilities and the steps required to tackle any incident of harassment should it arise.

3.0        DEFINITION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

3.1          For the purpose of this Code, sexual harassment means any unwanted or unwelcome verbal, non-verbal or physical sexual advances, requests for sexual favours or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when;

(a)          either the conduct interferes with another person's work or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment; or

(b)          having regard to all circumstances, a reasonable person would have anticipated that a recipient would be offended, humiliated or intimidated; or

(c)          submission to or rejection of the conduct might be used as a basis for decisions affecting a person's work or promotional prospects; or

(d)          submission to or rejection of the conduct might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by the recipient as an offence or humiliation, or a threat to her/his well-being, but has no direct link to her/his employment.

(e)        the conduct is based on the gender or sexuality of the recipient.

3.2          Please note that sexual harassment may consist of a single intense or severe act or of multiple acts. It also does not have to be explicitly sexual in nature. It is also sexual conduct which is imposed on and unsolicited or unreciprocated by the recipient.

3.3          Within the context of this Code, sexual harassment in the workplace includes any employment related sexual harassment occurring outside the workplace as a result of employment responsibilities or employment relationships. Situations under which such employment related sexual harassment may take place includes, but is not limited to, sexual harassment:

(a)        at work related social functions, conferences or training sessions;

(b)        in the course of work assignments outside the workplace;

(c)        during work related travel;

(d)        over the phone; and

(e)        through electronic media. 

4.0        FORMS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

4.1        Sexual harassment encompasses various conducts of a sexual nature which can manifest itself in five possible forms, namely verbal, non-verbal, visual, psychological and physical. Appended below are some examples of these five kinds of sexual harassment. These are of course not exhaustive and are meant strictly as a guide.

(a)          verbal - offensive or suggestive remarks and comments, jokes of a sexual or explicit nature, use of "affectionate" terms of endearment (eg. darling/love), questions of a personal nature and unwanted propositions.

(b)          non-verbal - staring, leering or ogling with suggestive overtones, licking of lips, holding or eating food provocatively, hand signals or sign language denoting sexual activity, persistent flirting.

(c)          visual - showing pornographic material, drawing sex- based sketches or writing sex-based letters, sexually provocative pin-ups, sexually offensive publications, sexual exposure.

(d)         psychological - repeated unwanted social invitations, relentless proposals for dates or physical intimacy, unsolicited and unwanted gifts.

(e)          physical - deliberate and inappropriate body contact, indecent exposure, pinching, stroking, brushing up against the body, hugging, kissing, fondling, sexual assault.

5.0        THE ROLE OF A TRADE UNION

5.1          Sexual harassment can be prevented, addressed and eradicated most effectively if action is taken jointly by the employer and trade union.

5.2          Trade unions can contribute to the prevention of sexual harassment by ensuring that the standard of conduct of their members do not cause offence. Trade unions have an important role in creating a work environment that will ensure a safe and healthy work environment. This is where individual employees, irrespective of status or position, are treated with dignity and respect and are free from any form of harassment, humiliation and intimidation.

6.0        HANDLING COMPLAINTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

6.1        Victims of sexual harassment do not complain for a variety of reasons. Examples are because they;

(a)        hope it will stop;

(b)        are embarrassed;

(c)        do not want to be labelled as a troublemaker;

(d)        fear victimisation;

(e)        do not want to get anyone into trouble;

(f)        fear they will be told it was self-provoked;

(g)        do not think they will be taken seriously;

(h)        do not believe any action will be taken;

(i)         fear they will not be believed; or

(j)         fear it will make matters worse.

6.2          Most often, victims do not complain because the offender is in a more senior position to themselves and they fear for their job security. All employees should however appreciate that if complaints are not made, management may be unaware of its occurrence and is not in a position to take appropriate action.

6.3          Please therefore note that if you feel you are a victim of sexual harassment, report this to your superior, branch manager or departmental head. If the superior, branch manager or departmental head is the source of the harassment, then you may, of course, report the matter to an executive in Human Resource Department.

6.4          All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and investigated by the Bank. Employees should not put up with this kind of offensive behaviour which shows a profound lack of respect by one employee for another.

6.5          It is obviously difficult for a victim to carry out her/his work effectively when experiencing harassment. The situation may become so intolerable that the victim decides to leave. If this happens, it is not only costly for the Bank, but the source of the harassment remains in the Bank and the problem is still not resolved and could even recur with someone else.

6.6          You should be aware that any employee may be alerted to a potential problem in several ways; through someone saying they have been harassed, through third party allegations/suspicions or because of your own suspicions. Whatever the source, please do not treat the matter lightly. As employees, it is our responsibility, in the interest of teamwork and in support of our fellow colleagues, to act promptly and carry out a preliminary investigation or at the very least, inform somebody who is in a position to conduct a preliminary investigation. Of course, the victim also has a responsibility to make use of the opportunities in this Code of Practice to address their problems/complaints.

7.0        PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

7.1        The purpose of the preliminary investigation is to gather sufficient information to decide whether or not there are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspicion or a victim's allegation is partly/wholly true.

7.2        The individual who will carry out the preliminary investigation will usually be the Branch Manager or Head of Department. It is therefore in the interest of both the Bank and the individual against whom allegations have been made that a fair and professional process is used. This will help ensure that as much accurate information as possible is available to the decision-making authorities at the various stages of the disciplinary processes and that the rights of the individual are upheld.

7.3        If procedures have not been carried out properly, there is a strong possibility that the Bank would either be unable to continue proceedings at all, or be more restricted in the options available to Managers in a position to take disciplinary action.

7.4        The outcome of the preliminary investigation may be:

(a)        The complaint is unjustified, in which case it is possible that no action will be taken.

(b)        The complaint does not constitute misconduct, but may require some form of action.

(c)        The allegation constitutes misconduct and requires further action. In this case, an appropriate person from the Human Resources Department will step in to handle the matter.

8.0        DISCIPLINARY INQUIRY

To ensure that the above policy is effective, it is essential that disciplinary action be taken against offenders. Since sexual harassment is a form of misconduct, an appropriate verbal or written disciplinary inquiry will be conducted before any disciplinary action is imposed against the accused employee. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, the disciplinary punishment imposed can range from a written warning to the dismissal of the guilty party from employment. Please note that individuals who are found to make a deliberate false claim of harassment may also be liable for disciplinary action.
 

SIGNED AND DATED THIS 03 October 2007 

For and On Behalf of 

SARAWAK COMMERCIAL BANKS’ ASSOCIATION 

(ANDREW KANCHU AH BEE)

PRESIDENT

Sarawak Commercial Banks’ Association  

(DRAHMAN JALADIN)

SECRETARY

Sarawak Commercial Banks’ Association 

 For and On Behalf of

SARAWAK BANK EMPLOYEES’ UNION 

 (HADIAH BTE LEEN)

PRESIDENT

Sarawak Bank Employees’ Union

 (ANDREW LO KIAN NYAN)

SECRETARY

Sarawak Bank Employees’ Union

IN THE PRESENCE OF 

(HAMIDAH NAZIADIN)

PRESIDENT

MALAYAN COMMERCIAL BANKS’ ASSOCIATION

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