There is growing concern about the financial health of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country, as a good number of them have continued to sack workers contrary to assurances of the Bankers’ Committee.
New Telegraph’s investigation revealed that bank workers are still being regularly laid off even though many lenders have adopted a new strategy to ensure that the issue does not attract much public attention.
According to sources, instead of sacking staff en masse like they did in the first quarter of this year, most banks now secretly sack their workers in batches and immediately pay the affected employees their entitlements to ensure that they go quietly.
Although bank officials say they are letting go of their poorest performers based on periodic assessments, the workers say the layoffs have more to do with the tough economy and the regulatory headwinds that the industry is contending with.
An employee of a Tier 1 bank said: “People are being laid off almost on a weekly basis on the grounds that they did not meet their performance targets. But the fact is that some people still get sacked even when they recently had great appraisals.”
The Bankers’ Committee had given assurance to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at its meeting in Lagos last month that it had shelved plans of mass retrenchment in the banking industry.
CBN’s Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, who disclosed this while briefing journalists at the end of the meeting, said: “One of the things we discussed was about the impending retrenchment in the banking industry.
So, we understand that many bank workers are expressing fears about possible retrenchment in the industry.
“We discussed and the banks are now committed to not retrenching their staff, going forward. So, whatever rumours are flying around that mass retrenchment is happening or not happening, that is not true,” she added.
She gave assurance to the public that although the industry was hurting from the impact of the harsh economy, all the banks remained strong, stable and had enough capital buffers to pull through the tough times.
Analysts point out that the ongoing layoffs at the banks is also contrary to the agreement, which the lenders signed with the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) and the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), a few months ago.
The agreement, which was signed in the wake of the mass sack in the industry in the first quarter of the year that saw over 6,000 bank workers losing their jobs, reportedly had the banks agreeing to suspend further layoffs.
In fact, the mass layoffs earlier in the year had also triggered an intervention by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who directed that despite the economic downturn, banks, other financial institutions and multinational must keep existing jobs and desist from sacking their workers.
Attempts by this newspaper to seek the reaction of NUBIFIE President, Mr. Danjuma Musa were not successful.
However, when contacted, ASSBIFI President, Mr. Sunday Salako said he was not aware that any bank that signed the agreement with the unions not to lay off workers was flouting it.
He said: “I’m just hearing it from you that banks are still sacking. I don’t think any bank that is doing this signed the agreement with us. Any bank that signed the agreement and is sacking workers is inviting our wrath.”
He emphasised that that the Minister of Labour’s directive to the banks to suspend staff retrenchment was still in force and that any bank that flouts it was doing so at its own risk.
Source: NEW TELEGRAPH