Heritage Bank head office has been shut down over mass sack.
Glamtush reports that the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), has reportedly shut down the head office of Heritage Bank in Lagos.
This online news platform understands that the action follows the sack of over 1000 staff by the management of lender led by Mr. Akinola George-Taylor without recourse to due process.
Comrade Anthony Abakpa, the National President of the National Union of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions Employees, emphasized that the bank’s leadership failed to adhere to due process before taking action. He asserted that the union would escalate its demands for justice and urged the bank’s management to address the situation appropriately.
The union said it had resolved to continue with the picketing until the management of the bank decides to do the needful by ensuring the sacked workers get their legitimate severance package.
The aggrieved ex-staff of the bank locked the gate and prevented anyone from going in or out of the bank’s head office located at 143 Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos. The closure of the bank’s headquarters serves as a visible demonstration of NUBIFIE’s discontent with the handling of the mass layoffs. This action underscores the severity of the situation and highlights the growing tensions between workers’ rights and corporate decisions within the financial sector.
Recall that in October 2023 less than one year after assuming office as Heritage Bank’s chief executive officer, Mr. Akinola George-Taylor forcefully booted out over 70 senior staff members of the bank, while many others were asked to resign plunging the bank into further crisis.
More worrisome was the fact that the affected staff were disengaged without paying them their accrued entitlements and allowances.
The internal crisis allegedly instigated by the bank chief was in an attempt to rid the bank of those suspected to be loyalists of some board members and employ his people.
The move, sources disclosed, was unconnected with the new bank chief’s plan to oust some board members who are said to be at loggerheads with him, from the bank.
The bank’s chief was said to be enjoying the support of a top shareholder of the bank whom sources say is allegedly determined to solely take over the bank and get rid of the owners.
NUBIFIE’s intervention amplifies the voice of the affected employees, demanding accountability and transparency in the employment practices of financial institutions. The shutdown sends a strong message to Heritage Bank’s management and the wider industry, emphasizing the need for fair treatment and procedural integrity in workforce management.
