Industrial workers under the Joint Public Service
Negotiating Council (JNC) Ondo State on Tuesday
shut down business activities at the headquarters
branch of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) on
Alagbaka Road in Akure, the state capital.
The workers, chanting solidarity songs, were
protesting non-payment of their salaries. They
also alleged sabotage of their efforts by the
officers of the bank.
They said that GTB, without the knowledge of the
state government, had withheld their salaries with
the intention of using the money to defray its
loans.
Many of them carried placards bearing such
inscriptions as: “Enough of GTB Exploitation
Antics in Ondo State”; “Workers and People of
Ondo State Beware of GTB in Akure”’ “We are
tired of GTB behavior”; “GTB will ruin our life in
Ondo State”; and “We won’t take this no more for
GTB.”
One of the protesting workers told
SaharaReporters that their salaries were withheld
by the bank while various unknown alerts were
sent to them from the bank.
“As at now I have not received my January salary
which is not supposed to be so. We learnt that
GTB is planning to defraud us. They want to use
our money for loans. We won’t take this from
them.”
Speaking with journalists, the JNC chairman in
Ondo State, Comrade Oluwole Adeleye Samuel,
also alleged that the bank was trying to sabotage
the workers by using their salaries for defraying
loans.
“This bank without the authority of the
government of Ondo State been represented by
the Account General took Seven Hundred and Six
Million Naira (N706.000.000.00) meant for the
payment of workers salary to defray a loan.
“As a result of this our salary has not being paid.
We are tired of this barbaric act of the bank. They
are holding us for ransom and we won’t take it
from them. I can assure you that we won’t allow
any transaction to occur in this bank unless they
pay our people”.
All effort by SaharaReporters to obtain the
position of the Managing Director of the bank
proved abortive, as staff kept mute when asked
about his whereabouts.
But the Head of Operations of the bank, whose
chest badge read ‘Kehinde Oyeleke,’ but who
refused to mention his name to SaharaReporters,
angrily declined to comment on the issue.
“I am not aware of what is happening,” he
retorted. “The bank does not have issues with
the workers. What sort of questions are you
asking me, I just told you we don’t have issues
with the bank? What do you want me to say?”
The workers vowed to continue the protest and
threatened tio occupy the entire street leading to
the Alagbaka branch if no positive progress was
made, adding that they would not allow
customers into the bank.
Meanwhile the Automated Teller Machines
(ATMs) of the bank have been shut down with the
protesters threatening to deal with any workers of
the bank who dared to attend to customers.
As of the time of this story, officers of the Ondo
State Command of the Nigerian Police Force were
being drafted to the scene to curtail any violence
and prevent the protest from being hijacked.
Negotiating Council (JNC) Ondo State on Tuesday
shut down business activities at the headquarters
branch of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) on
Alagbaka Road in Akure, the state capital.
The workers, chanting solidarity songs, were
protesting non-payment of their salaries. They
also alleged sabotage of their efforts by the
officers of the bank.
They said that GTB, without the knowledge of the
state government, had withheld their salaries with
the intention of using the money to defray its
loans.
Many of them carried placards bearing such
inscriptions as: “Enough of GTB Exploitation
Antics in Ondo State”; “Workers and People of
Ondo State Beware of GTB in Akure”’ “We are
tired of GTB behavior”; “GTB will ruin our life in
Ondo State”; and “We won’t take this no more for
GTB.”
One of the protesting workers told
SaharaReporters that their salaries were withheld
by the bank while various unknown alerts were
sent to them from the bank.
“As at now I have not received my January salary
which is not supposed to be so. We learnt that
GTB is planning to defraud us. They want to use
our money for loans. We won’t take this from
them.”
Speaking with journalists, the JNC chairman in
Ondo State, Comrade Oluwole Adeleye Samuel,
also alleged that the bank was trying to sabotage
the workers by using their salaries for defraying
loans.
“This bank without the authority of the
government of Ondo State been represented by
the Account General took Seven Hundred and Six
Million Naira (N706.000.000.00) meant for the
payment of workers salary to defray a loan.
“As a result of this our salary has not being paid.
We are tired of this barbaric act of the bank. They
are holding us for ransom and we won’t take it
from them. I can assure you that we won’t allow
any transaction to occur in this bank unless they
pay our people”.
All effort by SaharaReporters to obtain the
position of the Managing Director of the bank
proved abortive, as staff kept mute when asked
about his whereabouts.
But the Head of Operations of the bank, whose
chest badge read ‘Kehinde Oyeleke,’ but who
refused to mention his name to SaharaReporters,
angrily declined to comment on the issue.
“I am not aware of what is happening,” he
retorted. “The bank does not have issues with
the workers. What sort of questions are you
asking me, I just told you we don’t have issues
with the bank? What do you want me to say?”
The workers vowed to continue the protest and
threatened tio occupy the entire street leading to
the Alagbaka branch if no positive progress was
made, adding that they would not allow
customers into the bank.
Meanwhile the Automated Teller Machines
(ATMs) of the bank have been shut down with the
protesters threatening to deal with any workers of
the bank who dared to attend to customers.
As of the time of this story, officers of the Ondo
State Command of the Nigerian Police Force were
being drafted to the scene to curtail any violence
and prevent the protest from being hijacked.
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