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The feud between
the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC)
over the two factions of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks,
Insurance and other Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) is still pending
at the National Industrial Court.

The two unions are
embroiled in a battle of wits over where the union belongs. A faction
claims it belongs to NLC while another is claiming affiliation to the
NLC.

Sunday Salako,
president, ASSBIFI, under the TUC, said the NLC ASSBIFI faction,
especially those in Union Bank “left our camp since 2004 and have since
been on their own. When they were here, they used to have the highest
number of staff members then, so there was this thinking that they must
produce the president of the association during any elections and then
there was a fall out. They say they are with NLC, and we are not. So
that is what happened.

He said the workers
withdrew from the association when they anticipated that because they
had the largest unit of attendance, they should always produce the
president of the union and hence, there have been legal issues over why
they still maintained the name of the union, instead of getting a new
one.

The matter, along
with other subsisting disagreement, was referred to the Industrial
Arbitration Panel (IAP) for arbitration. The IAP confirmed the
existence of inter union dispute in ASSBIFI and advised both parties to
return to the 2007 agreement.

Obukese Orere,
general secretary of the NLC faction of ASSBIFI, had earlier said the
constitution allows people to belong to any union they choose and that
people who say TUC is the umbrella body for senior staff are not
totally right.

Delay not healthy

The delay in
resolving this issue, however, has been proven to be harmful to member
banks and ultimately, the welfare of bank workers.

In February, the
dispute between both parties reached its peak when Union Bank banned
its chapter of ASSBIFI on grounds that it was not properly affiliated.

At the height of
the bank’s misunderstanding with its workers, it issued a statement
that “Following the unlawful operations of UBASS (Union Bank
Association of Senior Staff) and ASSBIFI (Association of Senior Staff
of Banks, Insurance and other Financial institutions), Union Bank of
Nigeria Plc has withdrawn its recognition of the above named trade
union bodies with immediate effect. All concerned have been duly
advised. The general public should please take note.”

Following this, the
NLC embarked on a nationwide picketing of the 94-year old institution,
basically disrupting its operations for several days. The Congress said
it is not the duty of Mrs Osibodu to de-recognise ASSBIFI, its
affiliate, or any industrial union since there are statutory bodies in
place to regulate trade union activities.

“On the legality or
otherwise of ASSBIFI, we wish to unequivocally state that the dispute
is still pending at the Industrial Arbitration Panel (AIP) and no
judgement has been delivered up to this moment to warrant the
unfortunate and totally contemptuous decision of the Union Bank
management,” the labour union had said.

The matter was,
however, resolved after the minister of labour waded in and advised the
bank to accede to the demands of the union.

Industry watchers and banks have said they would not be part of what is happening until the issues are legally addressed.