HSBC refutes claims it pressured contractor to remove worker who was pushing for bank trade union in Hong Kong
- Nathan Leung, who works for contractor Compass Group, said he was asked to move from the bank and that transfer request was tantamount to dismissal
- But a spokeswoman for the bank rejected his claims, saying Leung was not and had never been an employee of HSBC
HSBC denied claims on Friday that it had exerted pressure on a contractor to remove an employee who had called for the formation of a banking and finance industry trade union in Hong Kong.
The bank issued a clarification to the media and an internal memo to staff hours before dozens of protesters gathered across from its Hong Kong headquarters in Chater Garden, Central to support Nathan Leung Lai-pong, 38, who said he was asked to transfer from HSBC where he had worked as a guest service officer since May 2018.
Leung, who is employed by HSBC contractor Compass Group, said he was asked to move from the bank on September 5 after he joined a general strike associated with the ongoing anti-government protests and had called for the setting up of a banking union two days earlier.
He said the transfer request was tantamount to “dismissal”.
“HSBC pressured the outsourcing company to fire me, but they avoided using the word ‘fire’. They used the word ‘transfer’ to give me a post in another company. In reality, that was attacking my right to form an HSBC union,” he said.
“They claimed I exposed the confidentiality of the bank and offered me an alternative post to keep me quiet, but that is not a deal I want to take.”