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Entitlements breed bad blood between Mainstreet Bank, ex-workers

Two days after the expiration of the deadline given by the 800 sacked workers of the Mainstreet Bank Limited (formerly Afribank Nigeria Plc) to pay…

Two days after the expiration of the deadline given by the 800 sacked workers of the Mainstreet Bank Limited (formerly Afribank Nigeria Plc) to pay their entitlements, the bank is yet to act.

The bank, created out of the former Afribank was one of the undercapitalised banks that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) acquired from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) after it failed to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s September  2011 recapitalisation deadline.

One of the spokesmen of the disengaged workers told our correspondent that they are keeping the next action to their chest following the failure of the bank to pay them accordingly.

The Corporate Affairs Manager of the bank, Mr Moshood Isamotu did not pick several calls made to his phone for reaction. He also did not reply our text messages.

The workers grouse

At a press conference in Lagos recently, the former workers recalled how management of the bank sect them out of employment unceremoniously 25 years after investing their energy for the development of the financial institution.

They said, “Our appointments were terminated with no reason and no terminal benefits except the one-month basic salary of less than N50,000 paid to each of us in lieu of notice after more than 25 years of serving Mainstreet Bank Limited and its predecessor and benefactor, Afribank Nigeria Plc.”

The former workers claimed being unjustly treated which according to them was in public domain but nothing has been done to rectify the action. They cited issues like: payment of differential salary between the old and the new staff brought into Mainstreet Bank Limited by the Executive Management, termination of their services of over 25 years without reasons, unjust queries, unsubstantiated allegations of wrong doings, making them sign undertakings under duress as examples of their plight.

They cited other issues like transfer of their loans from Afribank Nigeria Plc to Mainstreet Bank Limited and neglect of staff benefits, entitlements and failure of the bank to abide by the requirements of the Procedural and Main Collective Agreement between the Nigeria Employers Association of Banks, Insurance and Allied Institutions and the Association of Senior and Junior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI and NUBIFIE).

Their demands

At the press conference, the ex-workers demanded monetary compensation as specified by the collective agreement for redundancy which stipulates that workers with less than  five years service should get 12 weeks total emolument for each completed year of service for five years but less than 15 years should get 14 weeks total emolument for each completed year of service, while workers with 15 years and above staying in the bank should get 16 weeks total emolument for each completed year of service.

They also demanded payment of their 2012 annual leave, passage allowances, outstanding housing allowances up to December 2012, full July 2012 salary as well as payment of the half-year provision made to them in their 13th month salary.

The former workers further demanded commutation of their outstanding annual leave days to cash and conversion of the termination letter issued to them to retirement or resignation letter.

Labour’s intervention

Both Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and ASSBIFI threatened to close the operations of Mainstreet Bank Ltd. nationwide if the bank’s management fails to recall the 650 retrenched members of its staff.

The congress alleged that the affected workers were sacked without due procedure and adherence to the required labour laws. TUC’s General Secretary, John Kolawole in Lagos  on Monday said it is wrong for the bank to terminate the appointments of the affected workers when stakeholders were still negotiating on contending issues.

Kolawole said, “There is an injunction by the tripartite committee between representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, the union and management of Mainstreet Bank. The committee insisted that the bank maintain status quo till all issues are resolved. We were shocked to receive the news that the bank’s management had terminated the appointments of 650 workers. This violates the Trade Dispute Act and it is not in the right direction.”

Kolawole who said the union and workers are ready to resolve all issues in contention through constructive dialogue, urged the affected workers not to collect their termination letters.

Also, the president of ASSBIFI, John Salako said on Monday that the association will team up with TUC to force the bank’s management to recall the sacked workers.

Last month, TUC relinquished its mediatory role in the industrial dispute between the management of Mainstreet Bank Plc and the sacked workers. President-General and General-Secretary to the union, Comrade Peter Esele and Chief John Kolawole said the decision was informed by resumption of meeting of tripartite committee of the dispute. The union said it handed-off to allow parties reach amicable solution.


Workers frustration

Meanwhile, the ex-workers seem to have lost hope in the battle. They accused ASSBIFI and NUBIFIE of abdication of their responsibilities and obligation to them. They described the president of ASSBIFI, Comrade Olusoji Salako as an armchair of Mainstreet Bank Plc having allegedly justified the bank’s disengagement of the workers in a recent interview in a newspaper.

“It is not too strange though that both in-house and national ASSBIFI and NUBIFIE will keep quiet and be complacent over this matter since no member of the executives of Mainstreet Bank’s chapter of the two unions has been sacked. The question that is on everybody’s lips is, are the unions compromised?

“They have pushed us into the cold and provided shelter for themselves alone. Salako intervened in Union Bank and Oceanic Bank’s struggle. Why has he suddenly developed cold feet in our case? He said at one of our congress meetings that he would not react. At least, five letters of termination were issued by our management. Now, more than 700 letters of termination have been issued. Why is he still not reacting? ASSBIFIE or no ASSBIFIE, NUBIFIE or no NUBIFIE, the die is cast. There is no going back. It is forward ever and backward never.”

Salako reacts

In an interview with Sunday Trust recently, Salako denied that  the union has leaving the workers to their fate.

He said Mainstreet Bank management said it had a purchase and assumption agreement executed by NDIC and AMCON, stressing that under the agreement, it is assumed that Afribank is dead and its license withdrawn.

“But they have taken the staff of Afribank to start their own operations which means initially they were not having new staff but are claiming they are new staff. Who will pay services of the people who worked under Afribank? AMCON says it cannot salvage the institution and also look for money to pay the entitlements of the staff and I will say it is very wrong,” he stated.

Bank explains action

The Group Managing Director of the bank, Ms Faith Tuedor-Matthews stated at the bank’s board meeting on 20th March,2012  that the decision to overhaul the operations was a fallout of numerous discussions.

She explained that the decision of the board to embark on the re-organisation exercise is necessitated by the need to ensure continued existence of the bank and better position it to remain competitive in the industry.

According to her,  members of staff eligible to participate in the exercise include those who spent a minimum of 25 years in the bank in any capacity, those who attained the age of 55 years and above and members of staff who are 50 years and above but who rank below the position of manager.

The bank in April gave some of its workers who had spent between two and three decades an option of voluntary disengagement.

The bank’s spokesman refused to comment on the fate of the freshly sacked workers but promised they would not shut down operations of the bank, but employ every legal means to ensure that the bank pays them their dues.

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