Workers seek regulatory intervention, alleging labour law violations and denial of statutory benefits

TBT DESK: Ex-employees of HSBC Bangladesh have accused the multinational lender of unlawfully terminating hundreds of staff following the closure of its retail banking operations, alleging breaches of labour laws, regulatory directives and employees' statutory rights.

Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka on Saturday, the dismissed officials claimed the bank failed to comply with legal procedures governing retrenchment after winding up its retail banking business on 31 March this year.

Reading a statement on behalf of the affected employees, Alamgir Kabir said 257 officials lost their jobs as a result of the closure. He alleged that although HSBC identified the employees as "Retrenched Officials" in communications with Bangladesh Bank, those affected received standard termination letters instead.

According to the former employees, this allowed the bank to avoid legal obligations associated with retrenchment, depriving workers of severance payments and other statutory compensation required under Bangladesh's labour laws.

The group also alleged that HSBC Bangladesh failed to implement directives issued by the central bank and violated several provisions of the Bangladesh Labour Act during the process.

They further claimed that employees faced unauthorised deductions from their provident funds, irregularities in the settlement of outstanding loans, discrimination in re-employment opportunities, arbitrary increases in home loan interest rates and delays in receiving official release letters.

The former officials also alleged unequal treatment compared with HSBC employees in neighbouring countries, claiming staff affected by similar restructuring exercises in India and Sri Lanka received significantly higher compensation packages.

The employees' legal counsel, Mokarram Hossain Saklan, joined several former officials at the briefing, including Mostafizur Rahman, Monzur Morshed, Subakta Gin Mahmud and Abu Raihan. They called on the government, Bangladesh Bank, the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments to investigate the allegations and take appropriate legal action.

The group put forward three demands: a comprehensive legal review of the termination process to establish accountability, payment of severance and other dues in accordance with Bangladesh Bank's guidelines, and the immediate refund of deductions made from provident funds and other employee benefits, together with any applicable interest and penalties.

HSBC Bangladesh had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of writing.