Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Following the intervention of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Daju Katchalon, key issues fueling the industrial dispute between the management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF) and the domestic unit of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions(ASSBIFI) and the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Employees(NUIBFIE) have been resolved.
THISDAY gathered that the Permanent Secretary through a letter dated Thursday, June 22, 2023, had invited the parties to a conciliation meeting on Tuesday, where most of the issues were trashed out.
ASSBIFI, NSITF- Domestic branch had embarked on the picketing of the offices of the Fund last Monday, to compel the management to honour agreements it reached with the union.
But the NSITF management had deployed the action of the union, describing it as flagrant disregard to laid down rules on conciliation.
According to sources, all other disputed issues brought by the unions were resolved. It was agreed that the unremitted deductions for pensions and National Housing Fund (NHF) would be remitted in 15 months, starting from July 2023 – September 2024, while an internal memo would be sent out latest Friday, June 30, 2023, to inform staff of the availability of pay slips to be printed on request or sent electronically.
The NSITF management and ASSBIFI also resolved that they would on Friday by 10am, resolve tax issues.
It was also agreed that promotion examinations and interviews for qualified staff members should be concluded on or before the end of August 2023, while the management was advised to advertise vacancies in future where necessary.
The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) which was also part of the meeting was mandated to monitor implementation and report to the government in two weeks.
A source at the conciliatory meeting however said a Memorandum of Understanding which was meant to be signed by the national leadership of ASSBIFI, NUBIFIE and the management of the NSITF could not be accomplished because of the disagreement over the demands of the union relating to the coalescing of Deputy Manager and Manager levels to achieve a nine-tier grade level as obtained in the public service. Subsequently, he said the domestic unions and the management were mandated to meet to resolve the issue on July 7, 2023, before an enlarged meeting to be convened by the Permanent Secretary on July 10, 2003 for the ratification of the MOU.
At the conciliation meeting held at the Conference Room of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Permanent Secretary expressed displeasure at the action of the union in attempting to shut down the NSITF offices.
She further conveyed deep reservations over the decision of ASSBIFI to resort to external help without exhausting the internal conciliation mechanism in the Ministry, over a purely human resources issues, noting that it smacked of “mischief.”
The union had written to the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation for intervention.
A source at the meeting quoted Katchalon as saying, “bad enough, not one person came to me to report these matters, or remind me and seek for resolution. All we started seeing were accounts in the social media that bring the agency and the Ministry to disrepute.
“I summoned this meeting for a conversation that will be beneficial to all of us, taking all the issues one by one. I am open and will be fair to all. Your MD and Executive Director Administration told me you have been meeting, infact met last Friday because I had to call them back from retreat to meet with you, because I said my house cannot be on fire, having also been briefed by my Director of Trade Union Services.
“But you now bypassed all to go the office of the Head of Service. And everything is on social media and everybody is asking what is going on in the NSITF again. Again why NSITF? It is not good for us.
“You might think you are trying to achieve whatever you set out for, but to be honest, it would have been the best if we had sat down and had this conversation before going public with your agitations. Not doing it smacks of mischief.”
The Permanent Secretary also chided the management for poor communication with the union leadership.
Earlier in the meeting which stretched far into the night, Okenwa raised the issue of the Stability Group, a splinter group of the domestic unit of ASSBIFI, numbering over 3,000 staff and seeking for registration. The group had in a statement on Monday dissociated itself from the industrial action by ASSBIFI, accusing it of self-seeking agenda.
