By Eberechi Obinagwam
President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and other financial institutions, ASSBIFI, Oyinkan Olasanya, has disclosed that casualization of workers and productivity are major problems in the financial institutions.
Oyinkan, who made this known in a press briefing said: “Our major problem has been casualization, because in every bank, and every financial institution in Nigeria today, almost everyone is a casual worker. 80 per cent of them are casual workers. So, for that reason, we have an issue with casualization. Compensation for casual workers are too low, nothing, remuneration, the dignity of labour is nothing to write home about,”
She said though the labour Act made provisions that they should be contract staff. But, our battle is that those contract staff should have the dignity of labour and should be adequately compensated.
”We respect the causal workers but, we realized that for the cause of a sort of bitterness because they are not adequately compensated it is easy for them to be used as a fraudulent horse.
Most of the fraudulent activity taking place in the country today it is easier to use them because the causal workers are not professionals, they are not well trained, and they have reason to be bittered because there is no dignity of labor and the regulation, they are not adequately compensated,”
On productivity, she said: “We also have a problem with productivity. You know, we work in a private sectors companies and most of them think that what matters to them is profits.
They desire their profits. And we all know that the Covid 19 disturbed us from getting the necessary expectations of our targets.
It may please you to know that majority of us ignorantly, or innocently signed some company policies that specify that at the end of every year appraisal, the least performer, without quantifying what makes the least performer would be leased out based on productivity.
It means that if we are in a department and we are 10, and nine scored 99 the 10th person scored 98, he will need to go. So, this is what we are fighting and struggling to work on but as long as our own industrial sector collective agreement has not been renewed since 2017, because of the individual institutional policies that ran file of the collective agreement, that had been very tough for us to renew this agreement.
We have a collective agreement that is renewable every two years, and the last one was renewed in 2015,” she said
She explained that the employer’s sector, has been in comatose for eight years and that it’s been tough for them to negotiate directly.
”For this reason, we have to negotiate individually, and if we negotiate individually on every situation, it means we have to fight each institution based on their company policy so, that has been an effect.
On the effect of Covid 19 in the sector, she said: ” Majority of us during the Covid 19, lost their lives, the banking sector was opened, a lot of people comes in and we know that we work with multi late Naria note so it makes it easy for most of my members to have issues with Covid 19, we thank God that majority of us recovered, but we lost officially, fifteen members, and seven thousand eight hundred were tested and were also recovered.
And when the federal government was listing the essential workers in April last year, he didn’t remember to mention the financial institutions, until we agreed to stay at home and that adjustment affected us when they were listing the various workers who should have their vaccinations.
We were not included and initially when my members go to all these vaccination centres they were told that their names are not there but, we did an official letter to NDCNC and the Lagos state government, and Lagos State Government quickly responded and it has allowed our members to have the various immunization, and our employers have been updated in this area.
She explained that the problem of productivity after a pandemic year that most of the banks were shut down, couldn’t open for months, up to seven, nine months, and at the end of the year, they were still appraised despite that it is not them that shut down the bank.
”We have been battling with a lot of policy somersault. So many policies that when it comes to implementation, policies that contradict other policies make it a bit tough for us. We have an issue with casualization, and productivity, and put in place necessary laws like our collective agreement, we have been working with the Ministry of labour, and Neca have been of help in this way, for the past two years we have been able to get a regulation in place, a policy that guides casual workers in our sector, and up til now, it has not been fully implemented.
Explaining more on the issue of productivity, she said: ” You know we all have targets in all financial sector, so a bank can be making it, while individuals are not making it. That’s why in financial institutions, they are company policies that state that the bottom people that didn’t make it at the year are relieved of their jobs.
What we do in ASSBIFI is to make sure that due processes are followed. So it’s possible to see financial institutions declaring profits because they are fundamental accounts, that is accounts that are not brought by a marketer. For example, most of is in this hall want to bank with bank A, no matter what bank B is offering, they will not. So, at the end of the year, that bank will be able to meet their targets, but individual contributions may not be achieved, let’s not look at it that banks are declaring profits, it is not to our advantage. Banks may declare profits, but, individuals may not have met their target.
For job lost in the industry, she said:” It’s true that we have an agreement with the Ministry of NECA, that they are not going to be any job losses as a result of Covid 19, but, our employers most times are smarter than us, and at the end of the year, they tell you that you are not being asked to go based on Covid 19, because they paid salaries during Covid 19, but you are being asked to go based on productivity and for those that were reported to us, we are working on them for those they were asked to go.
They are some policies that are affecting us, they are two banks that merged, they have about five branches, at Adeola Odeku, so there is no way that they will merge five branches into one, that some will not lose their job, but we signed an agreement with such banks, that rather than sacking them, they should be a reduction in salaries for three months, but this policy of level one doesn’t work, when we are going to work, we forget that most of the cleaners, drivers fall into that group, so for those that are in level 15 and above, they used more of Ulber that period, so most of this banks realized that it is cheaper, so definitely, those that lost their jobs are not part of us, but they are Nigerian workers. It didn’t affect us that much because of our grades and us being senior staff.