THE Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has kicked against any plan by any commercial banks to sack bank workers because of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
Speaking with The Nation, its National President, Comrade Oyinkansola Olasanoye warned that any bank that sacks workers will face the repercussion.
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She said critical sectors of the economy needed a viable and modern collective agreement, coupled with the government having a social insurance system in place for Nigerians, among other issues.
She said: “I am not expecting any bank in Nigeria to sack bank workers. However, there will be effect on the profitability of the banks and there are going to be effects on people that took loan because they cannot go into production.
“Although the Federal Government has announced that there should be reduction in interest rate for people that have loans, but now we are not talking about interest rate but production in order to have the ability to pay back.
“When we look at all these, it is going to affect production, affect the exportation of our crude oil, and the importation of petroleum products very soon, because when you can’t export, you can’t import too and there are people that most of the raw materials they use are imported.
“I know it is going to affect the banks because many of these companies are on one loan or the other, and the only loan the Central Bank of Nigeria can specifically ask is interest rate to be reduced on are the loan that is directly sourced from them.
I could see that it will not be immediate, but at the end of the year, there may be job loss, because when it comes to the profitability of the banks, it is going to be very low.”