June 10, (THEWILL)- In what looks like the first public confirmation of the ongoing mass sack of workers by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CNB, the affected employees on Sunday called to question the criteria used for their disengagement, the non -payment of their entitlements and called on the National Assembly to intervene.
Speaking under the aegis of the Conference of Autochthonous Ethnic Communities Development Association in Jos, the Plateau State capital, they urged the National Assembly to investigate the recent mass sack of some workers of the apex bank.
Paul Dekete, the North Central Coordinator of CONECDA, Youth Wing, made the request in a statement on Sunday in Jos.
Dekete, who faulted the manner in which the affected workers; largely directors, deputy and assistant directors, were dismissed, said that the process violated the bank’s established procedure.
The coordinator also maintained that the move would grossly affect the operations of critical departments within the apex bank, adding that 16 departments were affected by the action.
THEWILL recalls that in February this year, 1,500 members of staff of the apex bank were redeployed from the headquarters located at Central Area in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to its Lagos office.
At the time, the CBN said the redeployment was part of the need to align the bank’s structure with its functions and objectives and rationalise staff skills to ensure a more efficient and effective work force necessary to achieve its core mandate.
But between March 15 and April 11, 117 staff were reportedly sacked by the bank.
Then in May, another 200 officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria were relieved of their duties.
Dekete decried that the affected personnel were those with an avalanche of experience and expertise in their various fields, needed to move the apex financial institution forward.
The workers allege that the bank offered no clear criteria for the mass sacking, saying that “this is a stark departure from their established culture of clear communication with staff during downsizing exercises.”
According to them, loyal employees, some with over 30 years of dedicated service, were cast aside with a cold, impersonal letter stating, “your services are no longer required.”
“This callous act extended to a Deputy Director who was let go even though she had already completed all the necessary paperwork and her retirement letter was ready to be issued.
“This is why we are calling on the National Assembly to investigate the CBN to understand the rationale behind the mass sack of its staff and the criteria used,” Dekete said.
“The National Assembly should ensure that CBN follows established procedures for staff reduction as laid out in its HR (Human Resource) manual and best practices worldwide.”
He said that “the insensitive termination letters should be withdrawn and replaced with more appropriate documentation that reflects the employees’ work records.”
“The National Assembly should ensure all the decisions are reviewed to ensure compliance with CBN HR policy and public service rules,” he said.
Dekete also appealed to the lawmakers to ensure that employees, who were dismissed without proper justification, were reinstated.
He said that the dismissed staff deserved fair compensation to mitigate the economic hardship caused by the management’s decision.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
