Following threats of show down by the organised labour, First Bank of Nigeria Plc has come out to debunk an alleged plan to sack over 1,000 of its core workers without following due process., according to an online medium, The NewsGuru.(TNG)
The organised labour has threateded to shut down the operatio of the financial institution., while some social media organisation over the weekend approaced the bank to vonform or deny the planned sack without response from the corporate communications department
However,, according to TNG, the bank said the affected work force in the planned rationalisation are not core workers but those on contract and deployed by anothe firm.
Reacting on behalf of the Bank, Managing Director of the contracting firm, a human resou outsourcing company, Whyte Cle Limited, Nireti Adebayo said they did not contravene the labour llaw in disengaging the workers.
Adebayo said the company met indices and requirements for carrying out the exercise.
She denied the accusations by t National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Emplotees (NUBIFIE) on the sack. The company chief said the firm did not receive any letter from the Ministry of La bour and Employment on the matter.
On the alleged violation of labou laws, Adebayo said: “That is not true. I am just hearing it for the first time. I am not aware of any letter from the Labour Ministry and no letter was written to us.”
Asked if workers had been issued retrenchment letters and on wha terms, Adebayo said she was at meeting and promised to respon the questions later.
Also, NUBIFIE, which is holding Bank responsible for the sack, said it would force the bank to respect labour laws.
The union said the financial institution must adhere to guidefelines l and negotiate good severance packages before sacking the workers.
NUBIFIE President Anthony Abak said the union had written to all labour centres, including the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) the Association of Senior Staff o Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) on the mat
“We believe in dialogue and collective agreement. Anything that is alie be unacceptable because we will not support plans that will not be in interest of workers,” he said.
Abakpa added: “We have also communicated with our sister union in the bank, the ASSBIFI, so that all of us will be on the same page.
“The ministry has promised to see the bank for a meeting. We got t know that they said the number is not up to 1,000. But they are not denying that they have it in the pipeline to sack workers at this period of the year. We consider this unacceptable, most especially without carrying the union along.
The union leader said if the bank sacks the workers, NUBIFIE wou shut down the bank indefinitely.
“How will a bank just go ahead and sack workers without due proceas and without following the labour laws? If they do anything withou following the labour laws, it is a infringement on the rights of the workers and we are going to act swiftly,” Abakpa said.