Ecobank Nigeria has sacked over 1,040 even as the minister of labour and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige has asked banks to stop retrenching their workers.
Top officials of the pan-African Bank confirmed that the initial list of those to be sacked was over 1,400, workers but was later reduced to “a little above 1,000.”
Ecobank spokespersons would not comment on the number of workers who were disengaged.
Ecobank Nigeria is a member of the Ecobank Group, which is present in 36 African countries. The Group employs nearly 19,000 people from 40 different countries in over 1,200 branches and offices.
The bank had earlier posted over N40 billion declines in its profit for the 2015 financial year owing to high impairment charges.
This was even as Dr. Ngige asked banks, insurance and financial institutions to stop the on-going retrenchment in the sector.
In a statement on Friday, Dr. Ngige said: “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.”
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.”
Dr. Ngige advised all parties in the interest of industrial peace and harmony to maintain the status-quo. [myad]
