BAD CHRISTMAS GIFT: OVER 200 BANKERS SACKED

The Banking sector has further displayed a high level of job insecurity by the sacking over 200 hundred of its staff by the duo of Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank. In November this year, Keystone Bank sacked  over 55 senior members of its staff in an exercise that was termed rationalisation and on December 2^nd, 2013 Enterprise Bank’s sent over 150 members of its staff into the already saturated labour market. The Bank’s Spokesman, Olusola Longe-Okenimkpe says the rationalisation exercise was carried out to identify resource optimization.

While workers in other sectors of the economy are happy and expecting goodies from the year end activities, there is always panic in the Banking sector as the period and the first quarter of the preceding year is always a time to send its staff parking for excuses which can be best described as flimsy. More often than not they are sent away without prior notice and payment of their  allowances in accordance with the Labour Acts.

In November 2012 Mr. Olubiyi Odunayo, a former Senior Staff of the defunct Hallmark Bank declared a hunger strike and relocated to live in corner of a street in Lagos because himself and 14,000 other staff of the Bank where not paid their entitlement upon their sudden dismissal from the Bank. With all this happening, any right thinking person will wonder about the mission and vision of the Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Labour Congress, Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance & Financial Institutions and National Union of Banks, Insurance & Financial Institutions Employees.