Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu
Linda Eroke
Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has set up a new committee to work out the entitlements of the disengaged workers of Mainstreet Bank Limited.
The Committee, made up of officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC), the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mainstreet Bank and the two unions in the banking industry, is expected to complete its work within 30 days.
Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) had threatened to shut down the operations of Mainstreet Bank nationwide over the bank’s management's inability to settle outstanding benefits of over 800 sacked workers.
Mainstreet Bank had sacked over 800 of its workforce in a rationalisation exercise in June, without negotiating redundancy benefits with the unions in the sector.
In a bid to avert the industrial action, the labour minister last week summoned all parties involved in the industrial dispute to a meeting in Abuja.
There it was resolved that a committee be set up to work out the entitlements of the affected staff.
The union said the ultimatum became necessary in view of the failure by management of the bank to comply with the recommendations of the tripartite committee that the bank settle the disputed benefits of the affected workers.
National President of ASSBIFI, Mr. Sunday Salako, who confirmed the meeting, said the committee has been given a 30-day period to work out the modalities for payment of staff entitlements.
“The labour minister, after reviewing the presentations made by all parties involved in the looming crisis in the bank, saw the need to settle the entitlements of over 800 workers sacked by the management of Bank.
He therefore set up a Committee comprising all stakeholders in the banking industry to work out the emoluments of the affected staff.
Salako said the branch union of Mainstreet Bank and the national leadership has worked assiduously to find ways of ensuring that the actions of the management were reversed.
He added that the meeting with the minister has put in place necessary actions that would ensure that the sacked workers are paid their entitlements.
“We are looking forward to the outcome of the Committee’s report in the next 30 days, so that the sacked workers can get their emoluments,” he said.