By VICTOR AHIUMA YOUNG,  KOLADE LAREWAJU, SAMUEL OYADONGHA, OSCARLINE ONWUEMENYI, AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE & SUSAN EDEH

NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday, made good its threat to shut down operations of Union Bank of Nigeria, UBN, Plc, as the bank’s offices across the country were paralysed by officials of NLC and their civil society allies, over the management of the bank’s withdrawal of recognition to its  unit of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, affiliated to NLC.

Mrs Funke Osibodu led-management of UBN, since January 2011, had been at logger ahead with NLC over management withdrawal of recognition of the bank’s umbrella body for ASSBIFI affiliated to NLC.

The mass action and picketing left many of the bank’s customers stranded and in lamentation as they could not access the bank’s offices to transact their businesses.

This came as the leadership of NLC which vowed to resume the mass action tomorrow after the public holiday, threatened to declare a nationwide solidarity strike on February 21 over the matter should the Federal Government fail to call the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, appointed management of UBN led by Mrs. Funke Osibodu, to order.

At the bank’s head office on Marina, Lagos, the picketers led by the President of NLC, Comrade Abdulwahhed Omar, barricaded the entrance to the bank’s building with two tankers brought by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, and numerous labour buses which disrupted free traffic flow in Marina and other adjoining streets.

There was also heavy presence of armed police men and other security operatives including State Security Service, SSS, who kept watch to ensure the picketing did not degenerate into lawlessness.

The picketers displayed numerous anti-Osibodu’s placards such as “What Mubarak was to Egypt, Funke is to workers; Stop wasting depositors money to attack workers; Sack Osibodu now before she destroy Union Bank,” among others

Besides the President of NLC, leaders of affiliate unions such as Comrade Issa Aremu of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, Comrade Achese Igwe of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Comrade Joe Ajaero of National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, Comrade Segun Ola of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Instructions, NUBIFIE, among others spoke condemning the action of the bank’s management.

Addressing the picketers, Comrade Omar, warned that the picketing and mass action were the first steps of industrial actions lined up to force the bank to revert its de-recognition of ASSBIFI, adding that if it required a nationwide strike to make the management of the bank to see reason, NLC and its allies would do it.

Speaking on last week’s court injunction restraining the NLC from picketing or disrupting operations of the bank, Omar maintained that the right to picket the bank or any other business premises was fundamental and legal citing Section 42 of the Trade Union Act.

He explained that the criminal acts of the bank’s management which include the ban of trade unions in the bank, the seizure of union offices, dismissal of 13 labour leaders and punitive transfer of union officials were fundamental violations of labour laws noting that the decision of the bank to pass judgment in an

intra-union dispute pending before the Industrial Arbitration Panel, AP, was illegal.

Omar said: “We want to reiterate the fact that the ongoing dispute is an industrial relations problem with the Union Bank and not against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. We, therefore, think that the use of armed police and soldiers in this matter is completely unjustified.

“The mandate of the Armed Forces does not include dabbling into purely industrial relations matters. The NLC, therefore, warns that if by any act of omission or commission, a single drop of a worker’s blood is spilled in the process of the planned peaceful and legal picketing of Union Bank, NLC will call out workers and the Nigerian masses on indefinite mass street protests and general strikes.

“We will also drag government and the management to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.”

In Abuja, the FCT Council Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Zakari Adams, said the union had mobilised its members across the city and the surburbs to ensure success of the exercise, stressing that the union would not be satisfied with a mere return to the status quo, but would insist on the resignation of the GMD.

‘Osibodu must go’

He said: “As we talk, our members have been mobilised to every branch of Union Bank across the country; we are determined to carry out this protest until that woman (Osibodu) leaves.

“Our ultimate demand is that she vacates her post, and not just that she rescinds her unfortunate decisions against the labour movement in the bank.”

The Congress had last week called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to withdraw the appointment of Mrs. Osibodu as GMD of the bank over her decisions to clamp down on labour activities within the bank.

A statement by the NLC President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, said that no amount of intimidation and threat of unleashing soldiers will deter workers from engaging Mrs. Osibodu and the management of Union Bank in order to re-instate all workers who have been sacked as a result of their participation in unionism.

Omar charged that Mrs Osibodu boasted and vowed that she would demystify the NLC and threatened to dismiss any staff found to express interest in unionism or associate with the NLC or participate in the impending picketing of the bank.

He said: “To signal her war against Congress, Mrs. Osibodu had ordered that union dues deducted from salaries of the bank’s workers be remitted to them. This order has already been expeditiously carried out.

“We see all these actions and utterances as open declarations of war against Nigeria workers in general and the NLC in particular.”

It further noted that, Mrs. Osibodu, following her vow to “demystify” NLC, had stepped up further oppression of Union Bank workers especially the leadership of our affiliate, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI.

Omar added that, “apart from the sack of many union leaders and the unjustified transfer of many union members to remote branches, Mrs. Osibodu has brazenly become more repressive by using security agencies, especially soldiers to manhandle and hound union leaders many of whom have gone into hiding.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress will never allow the rights of workers, let alone any of its affiliates, to be trampled upon with the level of demonstrable impunity and despotism as is being visited on the bank’s workers by the Osibodu-led management of Union Bank.”

In Kaduna, officials of NLC led others activists to picket Union Bank branches in the state, crippling all activities of the bank.

Mr. Isa Ibrahim, NLC’s Vice-Chairman in the state, argued that the picketing became necessary following the bank’s failure to reconsider its decision.

He said the NLC had been trying to resolve the issue with the management of the bank since January 2010 without any progress.

Ibrahim said the management of the bank, headed by the  Group Managing Director, Mrs Funke Osibodu, had sacked many of its union leaders and made unjustifiable transfers of some to remote areas, adding: “The NLC will never allow the rights of workers, let alone any of its affiliates, to be trampled upon with the level of demonstrable impunity and despotism as is being visited on the bank’s employees by the Osibodu_led management.”

Report from Bauchi State, indicated that all branches of Union Bank were picketed by organised labour led by state council of NLC..

Chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Hasimu Gital, who spoke with newsmen in Bauchi, said: “The new management under the leadership of Mrs. Funke Osibodu on assumption of duties dismissed the former president of ASSBIFI, along with others and the salaries and allowances of the entire workers were reduced, while the new group managing director increased hers as well as those of the executive directors, which also contributed to the face_off with the union”.

He said NEC has also demanded for an immediate repudiation of the de_recognition of ASSBIFI by the management of the union and has also called for the immediate sack of the GMD of Union Bank Mrs. Funke Osibodu.

“ If all our demands on Union Bank is not met after 20th  February, 2011, NEC would consider implementing other measures, because we consider the action of the management of Union Bank as a direct affront to the existence of the labour movement in Nigeria”. He said.

All effort to reached authorities of the union bank proved abortive as all some of their phones were either switched_off or there was no respond when ringing.

In Warri, activities  at the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc nationwide were crippled yesterday by members of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC with customers of the bank complaining to no avail.

Vanguard monitoring of the event reports that NLC took over branches of Union Bank in Warri as early as 7.00a.m, a situation that caught customers of the bank unawares.

Comrade Williams Akporeha, Vice-Chairman of NLC in Delta State who moved round the branches of the bank with his members to ensure strict compliance, said NLC was no longer comfortable with the anti_labour activities of the bank, saying all efforts to make the bank trend the path of negotiation failed, hence they embarked on the action.

While addressing newsmen at the Main branch of the bank located close to the Warri Main Market, Akporeha said there was no going back on the action of the NLC until the Managing Director of the Bank, Mrs. Funke Osibodu allegedly responsible for the transfer and maltreatment of the staff of the bank was removed.

He claimed that no fewer than 200 staff of the Banks have been sacked and majority deliberately maltreated and transferred by the Managing Director.

Hundreds of customers mostly civil servants and businessmen who thronged the Union Bank of Nigeria, UBN in Yenagoa for monetary transaction left disappointed as the two branches of the bank were yesterday picketed by labour

The shut down of the bank to customers is sequel to the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress to all its affiliate unions to join in the picketing of all the branches the institution nationwide in the aftermath of the industrial dispute between the management of UBN and the NLC over withdrawal of recognition of the bank’s umbrella body for senior association, the Association of Senior Staff of Bank’s Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, affiliated to NLC.

All branches of the Union Bank Plc in Ogun State were locked against customers yesterday, by the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), following the directive of its national headquarters, to protest the de-recognition of all workers’ unions in the bank by the management.

Vanguard who visited a branch of the Bank located at Panseke area of Abeokuta , met the state chairman of the bank, Comrade Clement Adeniyi and some members of the union at the entrance of the bank.

Adeniyi while speaking with newsmen said that the picketing became imperative over alleged negative disposition of the bank management to its workers’ welfare, adding that it’s Group Managing Director, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, should be removed forthwith to reposition the bank.

Some customers of the bank were dejected when they visited the bank branches and could not gain entry.