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Tag: ASSBIFI

  • ASSBIFI to CBN: lift forex ban on banks

    ASSBIFI to CBN: lift forex ban on banks

    The Association  of Senior Staff of  Bank, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to lift its ban on the nine banks for refusing to remit to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) its $2.334 billion in their Treasury Single Account (TSA).

    Last week, the apex bank banned the some money banks from foreign exchange transactions over their refusal to remit the funds.

    The banks and their  debts are United Bank for Africa (UBA), $530million; First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), $469million; Diamond Bank Plc, ($287million); Sterling Bank Plc, ($269million); Skye Bank Plc, ($221million); Fidelity Bank, ($209million); Keystone Bank, ($139million); First City Monument Bank, (FCMB) $125million; and Heritage Bank, ($85million).

    The ban on United Bank for Africa (UBA) by the apex bank was, however, lifted.

    ASSBIFI National President, Comrade Olusola Salako said the ban would not solve the problem but would cause upheaval in the market.

    He said the banks’ inability to pay would only cause panic in the system as the banks would have to seek  loans from international banks to pay the debts.

    He said: “However, the probability for these international banks rendering a helping hand at this time to the banned banks is almost next to zero, at least not until our economic problems have been resolved.”

    Speaking further, he said this ban would only reduce competition in foreign exchange transaction market which would invariably see another round of spike in the dollar against the naira in forex trading until there is a resolution.

    “It is also necessary to state that the possible effects this ban may have on workers in the affected banks cannot be over emphasised.

    “These banks even before the ban had already lost most of its revenue and profit to the TSA policy which saw some of them disengaging their workers to cover for the overturn on profit loss through reduction in overhead.

    “This ban from foreign exchange transaction may further cripple the operations of these banks and further have adverse effect on the already precarious state of their balance sheets.

    “We, therefore, believe that the ban though may be necessary but the timing is not right for the economy. Consequently we advocate the ban be lifted and a more placid approach be engaged in settling the matter,” Salako added.

  • ASSBIFI stakes N40b on Unity Bank shares

    ASSBIFI stakes N40b on Unity Bank shares

    •Okays Oyinkansola as new president

    The the Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institution (ASSBIFI) is to take about 57 per cent (worth over N40 billion) of the 50 per cent Unity Bank’s shares to be acquired by the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

    At it last congress in June, TUC disclosed its plans to acquire about 50 per cent of Unity Bank shares worth about N80 billion.

    At a Special Delegates Conference in Abeokuta, ASSBIFI National President Comrade Olusola Salako said: “We are at the forefront of this deal and it is for the betterment of our members.”

    He said the N40 billion would come from workers’ contributions and support from development partners.

    The union also approved the nomination of Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye as its next president in November when Comrade Sunday Salako will hand over.

    Salako said: “At our delegates’ conference that will take place in Abuja by November 2016, the positions for president and treasurer  would not be contested for.

    “ I choose Comrade Oyinkan as my predesessor because of her integrity and faithfulness. No vacancy for that position until after six years.”

    The conference is tagged, “Trade union strategic role in growing the nation economy”.

    The outgoing President of ASSBI explained that Olasanoye is capable of piloting the affairs of the association.

    Salako, who has spent six years in office, appreciated God and  his members for their support.

    Oyinkan, who will be the first woman ASSBIFI President, also appreciated his members, especially the out-going Presdient for their trust in her.

  • ASSBIFI ends internal crisis

    ASSBIFI ends internal crisis

    The intra union crisis rocking  the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) and Union Bank /United Bank for Africa (UBA) Units of ASSBIFI was been successfully resolved on August 1.

    The crisis which started 11 years ago, immediately after the national delegation conference held in Benin city, was as a result of the outcome of the election which was not accepted by both the leadership of Union Bank and UBA.

    Speaking during a meeting of the leadership of the group held at the ASSBIFI office, Alausa Ikeja, the National President of ASSBIFI, Comrade Olusoji Salako said the two units, both  Union Bank and UBA were very formidable members of the association and they actively participated at the 2004 national delegates conference but were aggrieved with the outcome of the election and therefore stopped attending activities of the national body.

    “There were some well meaning friends of the association that tried to settle the dispute so that ASSBIFI would remain one. There was a  step in this direction in 2007 at Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja when an agreement was duly signed as out of court settlement by parties. Despite this move, the dispute remained unresolved

    “Indeed, we would like to say that the resolution of the crisis on August 1, 2015 was made possible mostly because of the disposition of the current leadership of Union Bank and UBA units, who discovered that it was sheer foolhardy to continue the litigation at the detriment of our teeming members who have been at the receiving end since 20014 ,” Salako said.

    Salako said the court upheld the  agreement signed by both parties in 2007 and that the agreement have been duly implemented now. He added that the units have been remitting their check-off duty with effect from August 2015.

    Salako said the resolution will makes ASSBIFI stronger so as to be able to fight for their members.

    He said for instance, the issue of casualisation and unreasonable target setting will be look into by the association.

  • ASSBIFI to govt: protect workers’ right

    ASSBIFI to govt: protect workers’ right

    The Association of Senior Staff of Bank and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has called on the Federal Government to protect the rights of workers.

    The association lamented that despite the existence of international labour standards relating to recruitment, national laws in the country, their enforcement often fall short of protecting workers’ rights.

    Its Deputy President, Comrade Olasanoye Oyinkan, who spoke  with reporters, lamented that public and private employment agencies in the country have been involved in one or more deception about the nature and conditions of work for workers

    She said: “We call on government at all levels, the federal, states and local governments to protect the rights of workers as they are the creation of wealth for the nation. Our call is necessary because when the public and private employment agencies are appropriately regulated, they would play an important role in the efficient and equitable functioning of labour markets by matching available jobs with suitably qualified workers.”

    According to Oyekan, in today’s globalised economy, workers are increasingly looking for job opportunities beyond their home country.

    On the recent picketing of Alpha Beta Limited over the sack of 300 workers, the labour leader deplored the action of the company in the face of economic hardship in the country.

    She, however, explained that before the company sacked the workers, they reported to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, but before the meeting, Alpha-Beta had gone ahead to sack 300 workers.

  • ASSBIFI warns of massive job cuts

    National President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution (ASSBIFI), Comrade Olusoji Salako, has warned of massive job cuts in the banking sector because of the declining value of the naira against other international currencies, especially the dollar.

    Salako, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, said job cuts  had become inevitable in view of the harsh economic realities in the country.

    He said: “There is no way the naira fall in the country will not affect the banks as most of the banks in the country also borrow in foreign denominated currencies for their business transactions. They have to pay more in naira now to service the loans because of the fall in naira value. The slide in naira will take a toll on the balance sheets of the banks.

    “The slide in naira will also make banks to start thinking about how they can streamline their operation and think of what can be done to reduce cost. Job losses will be part of it. We have not seen much for now, but it is just a matter of time when people will begin to notice this.”

    He said if Nigeria is to survive the crippling effects of the global fall in oil prices, serious investment in the agriculture sector and less reliance on importation, especially on food, must be prioritised.

    He lamented that successive governments in the country neglected the agriculture sector by relegating its to the back door.

    He said: “If Nigeria is to come out of the crippling effects of the global oil price fall, serious investment must be made in the agriculture sector. There is no other country where farmers are more advantaged as they are in Nigeria. With only 40 per cent of her 84 million hectares of arable land cultivated, plus 263 billion cubic meters of water (having two of the largest rivers in Africa), Nigeria can be said to have immense agricultural potential. In addition, Nigeria has the required manpower to support agricultural expansion.  The country’s population of 170 million provides a huge market.”

    Salako said it is still not too late to transform the country into a global food power house, but reminded the government the achievements of past governments which are still evident today, were built and made possible through revenue generated from agriculture which he said was the main source of internal revenue generation in the country.

    He lamented that the discovery of oil led to the neglect of the agriculture sector which was the mainstay of the economy at independence.

    He urged governments at all levels as well as the private sector to invest in agriculture because of its capability to create massive job opportunities for the growing army of the jobless.

    Salako said the youths should also explore the opportunities in the sector as millionaires are currently being made every year through farming in the country, adding that there is no end to the prospects of creating more and more wealth through farming in the coming years.

    “That there is no any other African country where farming is as viable as it should be in Nigeria in terms of productivity and profitability,” he said.

  • Adopt labour standard, ASSBIFI urges World Bank

    Adopt labour standard, ASSBIFI urges World Bank

    The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has urged the World Bank to adopt a comprehensive labour standard lending requirement in its institutions like those adopted by other multilateral development banks. The Association said that this would correct the major weaknesses in the draft labour safeguard that was recently issued for consultation.

    ASSBIFI’s National President, Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salako, who made the disclosures to newsmen in Lagos while reviewing the labour standard version proposed for protecting the rights of those who work in bank-financed projects, stressed the need for the World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, to ensure that the proposal would be to all intents and purposes and not exist only on paper.

    He said: “The intention of the World Bank to adopt a labour safeguard is a welcome development, but we call for the version proposed would have almost no impact in protecting the rights of those who work in bank-financed projects alone, but would be to all intents apply to contracted workers, to public servants and not purposes exist only on paper”

    According to Salako, an important feature of all of the other banks’ labour safeguards in the past has been their application to contractors and sub-contractors, thus ensuring coverage of a category of workers that is highly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. “The World Bank President, by proposing to not protect these workers in its projects, the Bank will perpetuate instances of unsafe working conditions, child labour, unpaid wages and denial of freedom of association that we have seen in bank-funded projects,” he said.

    He emphasised that the major weakness of the World Bank’s draft labour safeguard is the proposal that the International Labour Organisation (ILO’s) core labour standards only be fully complied with if they are incorporated in national law.

    “Specifically, the freedom of association and right to collective bargaining provisions would apply only where national law recognises them, thus opening the door to retaliatory measures by project managers against workers who wish to exercise those rights.

    “We fully hope and expect that the World Bank will catch up to the labour standard provisions adopted by the other development finance institutions over the past years, and not undermine the progress that has been made by adopting a labour safeguard that is full of exemptions and exclusions,” he further said.

  • ASSBIFI warns against unfair labour practices

    ASSBIFI warns against unfair labour practices

    The President of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions  (ASSBIFI),Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salako, has called on  both the government and other employers of labour in the country to take advantage of the nation’s industrial policy to partner with workers to ensure sustainability of fair labour practices for the nation’s industrial sector to thrive in harmony.

    Salako , who in an interactive session with newsmen after ASSBIFI’s capacity building  at Entry Point Hotel, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State , called  for the implementation of the nation’s industrial policy for peace and harmony to thrive in the industrial sector.

    He said: “We call on both government and other employers of labour in the country to partner with the workers through transparent implementation of Nigeria’s industrial policy to guarantee the sustainability of fair labour practices, as well as  for foreign investors to invest in the nation’s industrial sector.

    “Our call is necessary now, because interestingly, governments around the world are increasingly strengthening labour institutions to play a leading role in the promotion of dialogue as an important reflex and to help raise the capacity of critical partners in national development agenda.

    “We also call on both government and employers of labour to embrace dialogue with workers as social dialogue is an important element in industrial peace and harmony in the workplace”.

  • ASSBIFI calls for synergy between govt, employers

    ASSBIFI calls for synergy between govt, employers

    The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI, has called on employers to take advantage of government’s industrial policy and partner with workers to ensure fair and sustainable labour practices to promote harmony in the nation’s industrial sector.

    ASSBIFI’s National President, Comrade Sunday Salako, told The Nation that there is need for collaborative effort by stakeholders that should culminate in attracting  new investors into the country.

    He said: “We call on both government and other employers of labour to partner with the workers through transparent implementation of the industrial policy to guarantee the sustainability of fair labour practices for the nation’s industrial sector to thrive.

    “This is because with sustainable industrial policy, Nigeria will be able to witness sustained, fair labour practices.

    “Our call is necessary now because interestingly, governments around the world are increasingly strengthening labour institutions to play a leading role in the promotion of dialogue as an important reflex to help raise the capacity of critical partners in the national development agenda,” adding that stakeholders should embrace dialogue with workers. He said social dialogue is an important element in industrial peace and harmony in workplace.

    Salako, who is the first Deputy President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), gave marching orders to some management of banks and insurance companies to urgently unionise their workers, or they would be forced to close down their business premises.

    He said the era when employers of labour decide whether their members of staff should be unionised is gone, taking cognisance of the fact that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Core Convention 87 and 98, and Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are sacrosanct in the roadmap to ASSBIFI’s unionisation pursuit,” he said.

    The union also called on the three tiers of government to reduce poverty by 25 per cent  by 2016, stating that the country has all it takes to be one of the leading economies in the world.

  • ASSBIFI seeks stronger industrial harmony

    The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has urged the Federal Government to ensure a stronger  industrial harmony for decent working conditions.

    Its National President, Comrade Sunday Salako who spoke on The needs for objective dialogue that would sustain industrial peace during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said this was only the way growth and economic prosperity could be achieved.

    He said: “We call on the government of Nigeria to put in place policies that would ensure objective dialogue that would sustain industrial peace as no establishment can survive without a good rapport with its workforce.There should be a symbiotic relationship between employers and employees to ensure harmony of purpose where both parties get what they want.”

    Salako lamented that some employers of erroneously place more value on the work to be done and profit than on employees. He said: “We urged such employers to always take proactive measures to prevent conflicts between them and workers to degenerate before intervention for better relationship. Unionism is not about pay, but the dignity of labour. We should be the whistle-blowers in our organisations today,” he said.

    According to Salako, it is unfortunate that some organisations place less value on their workers who are part of their assets.

    “Management that often disrespects workers should know that  without workers there is no production. Workers are assets, but when most organisations list their assets, they exclude workers who are the most valuable assets of any organisation.

    “They are highly indispensable because workers are the engine that make organisations function,” he said.

    He also said labour unions were supposed to make organisations desirous of the unions which served as arteries of growth for both workers and organisations.

  • ASSBIFI to Fed Govt: reduce poverty level by 25%

    ASSBIFI to Fed Govt: reduce poverty level by 25%

    THE Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has called on the government to reduce poverty level by 25 per cent.

    The workers made the call at their eighth Triennial Delegates Conference in Ilorin.

    President of the union, Comrade Sunday Salako, said the appeal was his reaction to a recent World Bank report, stating that 100 million Nigerians live in destitution.

    The report, he added, stated that 63 per cent of the population live on less than $1.25 a day.

    He said: “This is quite unacceptable in a country that is ranked among the highest producers of crude oil in the world and with vast arable land resources.

    ‘’ASSBIFI, therefore, mandates all tiers of the government to reduce the poverty level by at least 25 per cent by the year 2016.’’

    President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, sought cordial relation between employers and employees to improve productivity.

    He said both parties must co-operate with each other for their mutual benefit and the good of the larger society. He added that any protracted friction between employer and employee “invariably results in a lose-lose situation for both sides because it is the business of the enterprise that suffers the most”.

    Kaigama believes that disagreements do not have to degenerate into conflicts if the parties, especially the employers, are proactive in dealing with work-place issues and continual oiling of relationship.

    Meanwhile, ASSBIFI has given a marching order to some management of banks and insurance firms to obey the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Core Conventions 87 and 89 and Section 40 of the Constitution on workers’ unionisation or face industrial crisis in the next few weeks.

    Salako urged some management of banks and insurance companies to obey the ILO convention and the constitution.

    He said: “The era when employers decide whether their members of staff should be organised is gone. The ILO Core Conventions 87 and 89 and Section 40 of the Constitution are sacrosanct. ASSBIFI sympathises with our colleagues in these unionised banks and insurance companies on the attack on their rights by their managements and declare that modern day slavery and attack on workers’ right must stop.”

    On lits threat of an industrial crisis in the sector, Salako said the following organisations; Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, Fidelity and Guaranty Trust banks, as well as Leadway Assurance, Standard Alliance Insurance, Capital Express Insurance, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI), Goldlink Assurance and Continental Reinsurance must allow their senior staff members to unionise, adding that that is the only solution to avert unrest.