In what many have described as a direct affront to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, directive that no staff of any Bank in the country should be sacked, Ecobank Nigeria has gone ahead to sack over 300 of its employees across the country, thereby adding to the nation’s already bloated unemployment market.
It was authoritatively gathered that the Bank sacked mostly Security Personnel who earned below N30,000 monthly, without giving them prior notice.
Some of the workers sacked had been in Ecobank employment for over 3 years.
“The affected staff were not given any pay off package, apart from their April salaries”, an insider source confirmed.
It was also gathered that Security Operatives working at Ecobank are being understaffed, hence a few of them who are not affected by the shakeup, are forced to work 24-hours shift.
It could be recalled, that the CBN had earlier directed Banks not to lay off staff, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Access Bank PLC was the first to announce its plan to downsize, or in the alternative, slash its workers’ salaries.
Criticism had tailed the Bank’s decision, with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, threatening to mobilise its members to fight such plans.
However, apparently to forestall a major crisis in the country, even as the country’s economy is struggling to find its footing, as the economic impact of the coronavirus bites harder, the CBN, through its Bankers Committee, ordered the immediate suspension of such plans.
With the sack of the Ecobank staff, many have wondered why the Bank decided to go against the directive of the Apex Bank in such a time like this, and if there would be any consequence.