Retrenched workers of Mainstreet Bank on Tuesday protested at the gate to the National Assembly Complex, calling on the lawmakers to intervene in their case.
The workers were protesting over the non-payment of entitlements of about 650 staff members sacked across the country by the management of the bank since June last year.
A representative of the former workers, Mr Usanga Eyo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the protest was organised to call the attention of the National Assembly to their plight.
He said that they were sacked without any reason.
"We are not saying that the management does not have the right to disengage staff members. As at the time our appointments were terminated last June, Mainstreet Bank forced many of our members to sign an undertaking".
It was not to take the bank to court before the balance of the car loans we got were written off as ex-gratia.
The bank, subsequently, gave wide publicity to the payment of the ex-gratia in the newspapers, making the whole world believe they are magnanimous.
On paying the meagre 100 per cent gratuity, the bank deducted all the already written off car and Afribank Nigeria Plc share loans, in order to put our account in debit.
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We find it difficult to understand why the banks executive management decided to take this hard and unkind stance.
"The bank knows that we were all forced to take the loan by the executive management and also buy Afribank shares," Eyo said.
He said that the group had written letters to the National Assembly Committees on Banking and Finance and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, informing them of their plight.
Eyo also said that letters of complaint were sent to the Trade Union Congress and the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSUBIFI).
"Up until now, we have not had any reply to the letters we wrote. It is sad that even the bank union ASSUBIFI that is supposed to protect us, turned its back on us.
Keystone and Enterprise, the other nationalised banks have paid their sacked workers all their entitlements.
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We are asking them to pay us our entitlements first in order that we will pay the outstanding loans to the bank."
Source: PM News