900 sacked staff, Ecobank begins dialogue with organised Labour

Members of the organized labour under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have entered into dialogue with Ecobank over the Bank’s non-renewal of the contract of its third party recruitment agencies.

The dialogue which commenced on Friday is expected to be completed on Saturday.

A source at the meeting confirmed to Daily Trust that officials of both bodies had fruitful discussions and was optimistic that a deal will be sealed at the end of the meeting.

It would be recalled that officials of NLC in collaboration with its affiliate, Nigeria Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution Employees (NUBIFIE) had picketed the head office of Ecobank on Victoria Island on Thursday over what they called non consultation before Ecobank severed its relationship with the contract workers, a development they said had thrown some of their members into the labour market.

However, Ecobank management in a statement maintained that it did not disengage its staff, stressing that the bank decided not to renew the contract of its third party recruitment agencies which expired recently and as such returned this category of personnel back to these agencies who are their employers.

The Bank had maintained that it was part of its business strategy to invest in the employment of full time graduates and as over 300 graduates are currently undergoing training at its state-of-the-art Academy which was recently accredited by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), adding that they are to be absorbed into the system at the end of their training as permanent staff.

The statement pointed out that “as a demonstration of the bank’s concern and compassion for the affected personnel of our contractors, palliative measures were put in place by the Bank to cushion the effect on them. These includes payment of contract cessation packages of over half a billion Naira already paid through their employers and an opportunity was given to those with requisite qualification to apply to the bank for permanent employment.”

It added that the bank also offered them the opportunity to become Xpress point agents of Ecobank as a way of further providing them entrepreneurial and financial empowerment.

The Bank further reiterated that it would continue to align its people composition, development, recognition and rewards to position as the best practice service model in the industry, delivering superior customer service and experience across our network.