…Demand protection for members
By Bimbola Oyesola
Against the backdrop of continuous attacks on bank workers due to scarcity of currency in the country, organised labour in the banking sector at the weekend reiterated the need for protection of its members to forestall recurrence the ugly incidents of the past few weeks.
President of the National Union of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Anthony Abakpa, in a telephone interview with Daily Sun Workforce condemning the attacks on bank officials while doing their work, said government must ensure that no harm comes to the workers henceforth while doing their legitimate work.
“Our union condemns the attack on our members and other bank workers and calls for adequate protection for bank workers to safeguard their lives and not expose them to danger,” he said.
He warned that the union will not hesitate to call out the bank workers to stay off duties nation wide should the attack and harassment continues.
He however said that the union expected to see an improvement on the situation this week with the outcome of the meeting of the Council of states and the Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
“The council directed that more new notes should be printed and the old notes should also be made available. We believe that would bring some relieve to the people and our members would be able to carry out their duty without any form of molestation,” he said.
Earlier in a statement, NUBIFIE General Secretary, Mohammed Sheik has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to review its cash withdrawal policy which the union said was affecting the business of over 200,000 Point of Sales(POS) business in Nigeria.
In the same vein, president of the Association of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Olusoji Oluwole has raised concern over the safety of the members of the union equally threatening that the union, “may be compelled to advise member to stay away from work until their safety is guaranteed.”
Oluwole called on security agencies to put security measures around bank premises to protect lives and properties. According to him, bank workers are doing their best to ensure that money are made available to their customers.
While appealing to the public to see the bank workers as only doing their duty and the scarcity is beyond them, he expressed that the union would never support any sharp practices or acts inimical to the smooth disbursement of the new naira notes.