Fourteen thousand(14,000) ex-workers of non-consolidated banks in Nigeria have sued the Central Bank of Nigeria over the bank’s alleged refusal to pay their entitlements. The ex-bank workers sued as registered trustees of the Association of Non-Consolidated Banks, Nigeria, in the matter that came up for hearing at the National Industrial Court, Enugu Judicial Division, on Friday. Joined in the suit are the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation; ministers of Finance, Labour and Productivity; and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Other defendants in the suit, which is being presided over by Justice A.K Ibrahim, include Eco Bank PLC, United Bank for Africa, AfriBank (now Mainstream Bank) and Zenith Bank. The ex-workers are asking the court to determine “whether having regards to the CBN Guidelines and Incentives on Consolidation in the Nigerian Banking Industry of August 5, 2004, particularly the ‘Social Safety Net’, and the claimants are not entitled to be ameliorated and compensated in terms of their terminal benefits, salary arrears and allowances.