Nigeria Bank Workers Now Live In Fear As Job Losses Continue

The wave of sacking that characterised the banking sector a couple of years back has not abated as the axes are dangling on more workers, Ademola Alawiye writes.

Indications have emerged that more bankers will lose their jobs in 2014 following cost-cutting measures about to be introduced by the deposit money banks in order to mitigate the effects of some regulatory policies on their profitability.
“Job losses in the banking sector have risen more than any other sector of the economy. It is unfortunate that people who are supposed to be protecting the workers in the banking industry are the ones calling for a reduced workforce.”

This is the words of a labour expert, Mr. Charles Anenih, who said the situation is becoming alarming. 

Since the era of the global financial crisis in the mid-2008 and the special audit test carried out on banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the banking sector has witnessed a chain of job losses estimated at more than 15,000 by industry watchers.

Punch learnt that the recent increase of Cash Reserve Ratio on public sector funds from 50% to 75% among other policies, was the main reason for embarking on the staff rationalisation programme.

An investigation showed that while some banks were considering ‘casualisation’ as an option, other banks are considering the establishment of more e-branches where transactions would be made electronically without cash. The e-branches, our correspondent learnt, will have only one bank official, who will assist customers that are not literate.

Virtually all banks in the sector sacked their workers in 2013 in a bid to reduce cost and increase profitability. Some banks also closed branches that could not break even.

For instance, it was a black Christmas for over 200 workers of the Enterprise Bank Limited and Keystone Bank Limited as they were sacked some days to the festive period last year.

Mainstreet Bank Limited was reported to have sacked 670 workers without due process. Diamond Bank Plc sacked over 100 workers including all the union executives because they demanded for their rights.

Thousands of workers were laid off in a group of top banks.

Expressly, CBN Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, had at the beginning of the current reform process admitted that there would be job losses but the question then was whether it would be on a net basis.

On her part, Chief Executive Officer of Jade Consultancy, a recruitment firm, Mrs. Jadesola Akinola, said:

“A lot of people have been thrown out of work without payment of their benefits. Till today, some people have not recovered from the shock they experienced as a result of their job losses.”