NAN – The federal government on Friday, June
3, 2016 directed Nigerian banks, insurance and
financial institutions to suspend on-going
retrenchment in the sector.
This is contained in a statement signed by the
minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige,
and made available to newsmen in Abuja.
Recently, a wave of layoffs have been happening
in Nigerian banks with Ecobank Nigeria laying off
1,040 workers. This decision follows the sacking
of 50 top management staff by the bank earlier
in the year. Diamond Bank and UBA also laid off
thousands of staff in the same week.
“Following spate of petitions and complaints
from stakeholders in the banking, insurance and
financial institutions, I hereby direct the
suspension of the on-going retrenchment
pending the outcome of the conciliatory
meetings in the industry.
“This is as a result of the apprehension by my
office of the various disputes in the sector in
accordance and in compliance with the
provisions of the labour laws of Nigeria,” it said.
The statement said that the decision was further
predicated on the fact that the continued
retrenchment and redundancy by the sector
were jeopardising the outcome of the
reconciliatory and mediatory processes
undertaken by the ministry.
“In this wise, all the retrenchments and
redundancies done in the last four months and
all proposed ones should be put on hold.
“Pending the outcome of the proposed
stakeholders’ summit for the banking, insurance
and financial institutions’ employers and
employees, slated for the first week of July 2,’’
the statement read in part.
However, Mr. Ngige advised all parties in the
interest of industrial peace and harmony to
maintain the status-quo ante-belum.
Several banks have fired thousands of workers,
amid an economic crisis. This week, Ecobank
has reportedly sacked about thousand staff.
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