• National Assembly, Federal government must look into what is happening in the banking industry – Angry ex-staff, Ademola Michael told Starnews

Members of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) on Thursday morning picketed the headquarters of Ecobank PLC on Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria Island in Lagos over alleged peanut payment of severance allowance to over 900 staff who were sacked by the bank recently. 

The activity of the union has restricted access into the bank’s headquarters, just as the protesters condoned off its main entrance gate. 

Daily Trust findings revealed that over 900 members of staff were relieved by the bank last week and replaced with the same number almost immediately.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, the National President of NUBIFIE, Comrade Anthony Abakpa, said Ecobank management has taking the union for granted. 

Abakpa said: “Last week Friday, they sacked 800 staff  and another 100 on Monday; people who have served several years, soaked their blood into the profitability of the bank and at the tail end of the whole thing, the man from nowhere, do away with our people without recourse to the union. 

“It is abnormal and we cannot take it. We are not saying that you have to engage them by force but the numbers of years they have served, pay them their severance allowance to enable them go about their normal business.” He likened the incident to “someone enslaving us in our country.” 

He said Ecobank is wide spread across Africa, saying it cannot try the same treatments in neighbouring Ghana, Togo or Niger Republic. 

“We have brought this before the public domain to let them know that it will no longer be business as usual. The only thing that can solve this problem is for them to discuss with us. Tell us the way out and tell us how they are going to pay the severance benefits. 

“We have started at the headquarters today and we will take these to our zonal councils. We already have the approval of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). We are going to shutdown all their branches across the country,” he added.

One of the affected staff, Ademola Seun Michael, who spoke with Starnews on Wednesday, said after working with the bank for several years, they just sacked him and other colleagues, while the bank gave peanut ranging from N80,000, N170,000, while the highest paid person with minimum of 15 years experience went home with N400,000.

“I thiink something is wrong with the new management of Ecobank led by Patrick Akinruntan. He just disengaged everyone who were loyal to the bank with long duration of meritorious service and paid peanuts to all of us while he brought fresh people through an outsource company suspected to be his own to replace us.”

“It’s quite unfortunate. Ecobank is in Ghana, Togo and in more than 20 African countries. They can’t dare try this rubbish there. It can only happen in Nigeria because of weak laws and institutions we have in the country.”

“Even where rules are obviously broken with strict sanctions, our leaders and appropriate institutions will not do anything because of the level of corruption. Just imagine what is happening in the banking sector today. This ecobank saga is not limited to Ecobank but virtually in all the banks.”

“95% of contract staff are very educated, even educated and more experienced on the job than many of those treating us with disdain today; and yet, we wouldn’t mind taking up the job as a contract staffs, enduring all insults and the inequality in the system just to earn a living. But unfortunately, without following due process and pay our entitlements, they just woke up one day and asked thousands of people to go in order to bring new people with peanut salaries scale.

“Before our Sack, they have sacked thousands before us including core staffs. Its high time the National Assembly and the executive arm of government looked into what is happening in the banking industry,” Ademola said.