Workers in the banking industry on Monday said they would picket banks that failed to recall workers sacked without due consultation with labour. In separate interviews with News the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the unions commended the Jan. 7 statement by the Federal Government criticising the sack.

The government had directed banks which recently sacked thousands of employees to recall all workers sacked without due process or face sanctions.

The government gave the directive after a meeting with labour representatives, workers’ unions and representatives of the affected banks on Jan. 5 in Abuja. Mr Jarvis Erohmosele, General Secretary, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution (ASSBIFI) said the government’s directive was in line with the unions” demands.

“We will picket any bank that does not comply with the government”s directive,” Eromhosele told NAN. The general secretary hoped that the government”s decision would stop the mass sack embarked on by banks following recent financial instability in the sector.

Mr Hassan Adeleke, President, National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), said the union was insisting that bank workers sacked without due process should be recalled.

Adeleke urged financial institutions to endeavour to dialogue with labour unions while taking decisions concerning their workers.