Organised Labour has demanded thorough investigation into the transactions and activities that caused the collapse of Heritage Bank PLC.
Under the aegis of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, Labour also called on the regulatory agencies to invoke appropriate actions to recover debts while applying sanctions and penalties against any Institutions or persons found guilty.
In a statement by its President, Olusoji Oluwole, ASSBIFI blamed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and other regulatory agencies for the failure and liquidation of the Heritage Bank PLC, and called for clear and practical steps to settle workers' entitlements.
According to the statement "The recent CBN order revoking the Operational License and Liquidation of Heritage Bank PLC did not come to the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) as a surprise.
"This situation could have been avoided if the Regulatory Authorities had heeded to the various clamour from staff, ASSBIF, and the public on the plight of Heritage Bank. No decisive action was seen to have been taken to stem the fate that eventually befell the institution on 3, June 2024.
"You will recall that sometime in June 2021, staff of the bank in Abuja gathered at the home of an alleged debtor, a prominent politician to recover unpaid debts to the bank.
"In 2023, we called the attention of the public to the insensitive disengagement of over 65 workers under the guise of reorganization, who had put in decades of service to the bank without commensurate compensation as stated in the Labour Act and ILO conventions. "Rather than acting responsibly and doing the right thing through mediation with the Minister of Labour and Employment, the Management chose to hide behind the cover of the court of law. This has been its behaviour as reported in recent times through other court judgements against the management .
"In March 2024, The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, NUBIFIE, also raised same alarm, yet no decisive actions were taken.
"While we are not opposed to the liquidation order on, Heritage Bank as prescribed by law and to sustain confidence and assure the general public of the safety of their money in Nigerian Banks, we are 'seriously concerned about the fate of our members who have invested multiple decades of their active lives in the service of the Bank.
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"Their future now hangs in the balance, as there is no mention of plans to settle the workers in the CBN and NDIC publications and liquidation process. We are genuinely perturbed, because Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions National Secretariat vulnerable workers should not be unfairly treated, used and discarded without settlement of some sort.
"While the NDIC Act excludes staff related accounts from the insurance premium, we appeal that the predicament of members is considered when payments are made to other depositors based on the harsh economic realities.
"As the Statutory Representative of Senior Employees in Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, and a critical Stakeholder in the Nigeria Financial Sector, ASSBIFI implores the CBN and other Regulators in the banking industry to deeply investigate the transactions and activities that caused the collapse of Heritage Bank, and invoke appropriate actions to recover debts while applying sanctions and penalties against any Institutions or persons found guilty.
"Coming at a time when the economy is in serious crisis with hyperinflation and high unemployment rate leading to job cuts, it is most disheartening that vulnerable workers who faithfully and committedly put in their best for decades in the Bank would be abandoned to perish in penury.
"We expect and believe that the NDIC would factor into the Liquidation Plan criteria for compensation and settlement of the workers."
