The Central Bank of Nigeria and all the commercial banks in the country have reached a consensus to boycott the planned lay-off of workers in the banking sector as a result of the pandemic.
This was contained in a statement on Sunday by the apex bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor.
Before now, some banks had proposed the idea of downsizing their workforce as they plan to resume operations, a decision that the public decried.
This called for a meeting by the apex bank with other banks to review the extent of impact the proposal would have on workers and their families in a time like this.
It said, “A special meeting of the Bankers’ Committee was convened on May 2, 2020, to further review the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian banking industry. The Committee particularly deliberated on the issue of the operating costs of banks in view of the disruptions emanating from the global economic difficulties and decided as follows:
“In order to help minimize and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID19 pandemic on families and livelihoods, no bank in Nigeria shall retrench or lay-off any staff of any cadre (including full-time and part-time).
“To give effect to the above measure, the express approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria shall be required in the event that it becomes absolutely necessary to lay-off any such staff.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria solicits the support of all in our collective effort to weather through the economic challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.”