Over 300 unlawfully disengaged staff of Diamond bank have dragged the management of the Bank to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Jos division over their unlawful disengagement and refusal of the bank to pay severance benefits. Investigations reveal that the bank has been heading southwards going by all industry standard performance indicators ever since the current Managing Director/Chief executive Officer – Mr Uzoma Dozie took over management of the lender about three years ago.

In a bid to reduce operational costs by all means due to the effects of the current economic recession, the bank adopted a new operational structure early last year (2016) resulting in the need for a reduced workforce. In implementing this, the bank opted for an unlawful means of retrenchment, deciding to yank off over 300 staff from various grades, even against the advise of the Honorable Minister of Labour. The affected staff were neither paid severance nor redundancy benefits, despite the fact that other banks who carried out similar exercises in the same year paid their affected staff severance/redundancy benefits. The affected staff have now decided and gone ahead to institute legal action against diamond bank at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Jos division.

Hearing of the case has been fixed for the 4th of April 2017. It is really worrisome seeing a bank that appears to hold integrity in high esteem flagrantly disregard labour laws in carrying out such exercise in a most wicked manner. Hopefully, the outcome of this case will make organizations operating in the country who hire and fire at will without recourse to the extant labour laws of the land to start acting responsibly.