Tony Okafor
One slumps as ACCESS BANK workers protest
sacking without pay

One of the sacked workers of the Access Bank reportedly slumped in Onitsha, Anambra state while protesting alleged dismissal by the bank without benefits.

The protesters who marched through major roads in the commercial city with placards before ending at Basilica of Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha, said they were in the church to petition God over their plight.

They carried placards of different inscriptions, reading"CBN/NLC/Bankers committee come to our rescue, Access Bank at it again, sacking staff without lay off benefits, Access Bank mystery shopping video, amidst Covid-19 Access Bank sacked 3 times in 2020.

Others were, "Working Monday to Sunday no benefits for 10 years, over 300 sacked in South-East on November 2020 without benefits, Access Bank show us the mystery video clipp you
claimed you used to rate our performance and sacked us."

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Emmanuel Okoye, said the protest was to register their grievances over what he described as injustice.

He called on the Central Bank of Nigeria , Nigeria Labour Congress and Bank Committees to come to their rescue, insisting they should be compensated.

He said, "I worked with Access Bank Main market branch Onitsha, I was among the over 300 Access Bank staff November 2020 batch dismissed in the five Southeast states of Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia without given us tangible reasons and benefits for our dismissal.

"CBN gave its directive that no bank staff should be sacked especially at this Covid-19 pandemic but Access bank has sacked on three occasions in 2020. They did the first one in February, second in April and the third which we are involved in November, making it over 300 staff sacked in Southeast.

"They only gave us one month salary. What will one month salary do to people that are the bread winners with families in this economic hardship? They claimed to have taken mysterious shopping video to rate our poor performance with customers, let them show us the video clipp if what they are saying is the truth.

"We are not protesting to paint the Bank black or say anything nagative but it is not fair for somebody to work for you for years and you ask the person to just go like that.