Yesterday, contract employees requested salary hikes and threatened to strike, disrupting Polaris Bank’s business operations.
The drama began when the bank made the decision to give full-time employees a significant wage raise of 100% owing to inflation and rising gasoline prices, which caused unrest and agitation among its contract workforce. On Tuesday, the drama went viral across social media platforms.
The contract employees complained in the film about being ignored and the obvious pay inequality as well as the dearth of career advancement chances within the company.
They contended that even if they carried out the same responsibilities as their full-time counterparts, they still didn’t earn adequate pay.
They wanted a wage increase of 100% in line with the boost provided to full-time employees in acknowledgment of their accomplishments and loyalty to the bank, taking into account the socioeconomic hardships they also faced.
Anthony Abakpa, National President of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), reacted negatively to the idea of activity disruption, calling it unprofessional.
He claimed that they ought to have alerted the union to approach the lender in a constructive manner. He stated: “That is not the way to go. The law does not support that idea, they erred on their part by going on a rampage. We are already talking with the bank to find out what steps they will take given the hardship on the ground. What the workers have done is not professional because there are better ways to approach it rather than taking laws into their hands. It is not healthy.”
“At the point of entry, everybody signed a code of conduct and if violated, it will not be too healthy, except if we intervene quickly. We are trying to pacify the bank to put a human face to it and see how they can intervene. The increment was done yesterday (Monday) and those people who were not affected were saying why should it be for only full staff.”
When asked by email if there were any intentions for contract workers’ salaries to be increased, Rasheed Bolarinwa, a member of the media department, did not respond as of the time of publication.
