Labour threatens to picket banks over mass sack
NLC, TUC during a protest.
Both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) will picket banks that have retrenched workers in the coming days, President of TUC, Bobboi Kaigama has said.
Speaking on the gale of retrenchments in the banks and other financial institutions in recent days yesterday on the sidelines of the just-concluded International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland, Kaigama said both TUC and NLC were strategizing with a view to picketing the erring banks.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on banks, insurance and other financial institutions has summoned the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefuele, Director General of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Segun Oshinowo and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige to appear before it on Thursday on the lingering mass sack.
Kaigama insisted that employers must at all times play by the rule of engagement and respect the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs). His words: “Yes while the employer has the right to hire and fire, there are rules governing employment, which are very clear. There are Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) in every sector of the economy, which place all the issues on the table for all the major stakeholders to discuss. But some of the banks that have retrenched so far sacked their workers while labour leaders are here attending the 105th International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Minister of Labour and Employment has made the disposition of the Federal Government on the matter known that it will not tolerate mass sack at this time.
“Government has also shown that while it cannot force employers not to sack workers, it must be appreciated that government has a responsibility to protect citizens. As organized labour, we will examine all the matters that let to the redundancy and see if the rules are followed. What is clear is that we will react accordingly to the development.”
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1 Comments
While one is not in favour of the ongoing mass sacking and retrenchment in the banking sector, it is just more reinforcement of the fact that we do not have a real banking and finance sector in this country. We just have opportunists who have been living off free government funds for decades. Now that these funds have been withdrawn, maybe this sector can develop into a proper tool for economic development. That is the real purpose of banks, not warehousing government money and holding illegal funds. It’s painful for the banking staff no doubt, but let’s face it, it wasn’t real, and anything built on such a flimsy foundation is bound to collapse one day. Now is the time for our banking sector to lead the economic development of the country, through imaginative strategies that empower the people in their financial endeavours, whether it’s realistic home ownership schemes, genuine business loans for the entrepreneurs and professionals, realistic loan schemes for industry. That is banking. And bankers should always remember that while oil has kept the few in the lap of luxury, it is the informal sector, the traders, the market women, the artisans, the farmers, the small business people who make up the informal sector that have kept this country going for over 50 decades. Petroleum has not impacted their lives in anyour way. So help them grow, all you bankers and financial institutions out there. Practice your profession.
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