ASSBIFI, NUBIFIE Set To Shut Mainstreet Bank Operations

The leadership of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) and their counterpart National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) have threatened to shut down the operations of the Mainstreet Bank formerly Afribank Plc nationwide from Monday 17th September for failure to settle the outstanding benefits of the recently sacked 1000 workers of the bank.

According to a statement issued by ASSBIFI National President, Comrade Sunday Salako, the unions had given the owners of the bank an ultimatum that expired today to settle the benefits of its members sacked in what was considered as a rationalisation exercise in June this year.

Comrade Salako stated that “unions shall not be held responsible for actions that will follow should our members benefits remain unpaid after Friday, September 14, 2012”.

He said that the union’s leaders might be forced to shut down the operations of the bank nationwide to show the import of the situation if the owners of the bank fail to pay within the period of grace given.

The union leader said “we don’t have problem with the management of the bank, but as we don’t know the premises or houses of the Bank owners, the only place is the office and that is why we will shut down all the offices until our demand is met”.

He explained that the union felt that the issues could have been resolved peacefully through dialogue and the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Productivity. He said that tripartite committee set up by the Labour Minsiter met, concluded its sitting and submitted its report to the Minister in which it urged the bank to pay the sacked workers their benefits.

Comrade Salako further stated that the Bank insisted that it would not pay the gratuity of the Union members on the ground that it did not acquire the liabilities of the defunt Afribank Plc.

The labour Leader said the bank’s management told the union Leaders that the new bank has no record of Afribank Plc and that the purchase and Assumption Agreement handed over to the new management did not empower it to go into such arrears. As a result, the bank would not be able to address the sacked wokers’ past services with Afribank Nigeria Plc.

Meanwhile, the management of the Mainstreet Bank has stated that under the Purchase and Assumption Agreement certain liabilities such as pension liabilities and gratuities were not transferred to new bank management pursuant to the said instrument of transfer.

The bank further maintained that the liquidities that were not assumed by the Mainstreet Bank management remained with the defunct Afribank Plc.

The bank’s statement explained that the board of the bank paid certain benefits to the employees who were being disengaged by the new bank management even though such payments did not form part of their entitlements under their contracts of employment. It stressed that such disengaged members of staff signed an undertaking acknowledging that such payments were not to be construed as a severance payment which the disengaged employees