Equal pay for equal work: CBG staff demand answers for disparities in salary

Employees of some of the five banks merged into the Consolidated Bank (CBG) have expressed worry over salary disparities in the new bank, based on which of the liquidated banks one used to work for.

According to some of the staff, they do not understand why a teller or a Relationship Officer from one of the defunct banks should be paid more than a person in a similar position from another of the liquidated banks.

The workers, who received a six-month probationary contract from CBG last Wednesday, said after cross-checking with their colleagues, they observed huge disparities in salaries of workers in the same category but from the different banks that came together to form CBG.

“As staff of Consolidated Bank, we were expectant that the new contracts that were promised us will put us on the same salary structure but as it turns out, that has not been the case,” a group of the bank’s workers told the B&FT in Accra.

“We asked from our colleagues at different branches and realised that workers who are doing the same work but from the different banks are being paid differently. So, we need explanations as to why it is so.

We understand that the integration is still ongoing but what we do not understand is why we are not being paid equally for doing the same work.”

Asked if they had sought explanation from management, the aggrieved staff answered in the affirmative, but added that the hierarchy of the bank was nothing short of a convoluted structure which, they said, made it difficult for them to get answers, or even be sure whom to address their grievances to.

The probationary contract took effect October 1, 2018, but the workers said they only received its content on Wednesday, October 24.

CBG acknowledges complains but says it was error

When contacted regarding the issue, Issa Monnie, a member of CBG’s corporate communications team, acknowledged that management had received such concerns from some staff and was taking steps to address the matter.

According to him, a memo has been sent to the various Human Resource Managers of the defunct five banks to be relayed to all staff.

The memo, which he refused to make available to the B&FT, he explained, seeks to assure staff of management’s commitment to resolving the matter.

“The issue has come to the attention of the Chief Executive: There is a memo addressing the issue, giving indications or directions as to how this issue is going to be resolved. Because there are five banks forming the Consolidate Bank, all these banks still have their HR intact, so even the contract letters were not distributed to employees directly; they were sent to the various banks through their HR departments and they did the final distribution.

“So, the MG has directed that anybody who has a problem with the placement and categorisation, or any issue with the six-month probationary contract, should run it through their HR department for the matter to be addressed,” Mr. Monnie added.

However, the aggrieved workers have denied receipt of such a memo. As at Friday, the workers said they were yet to receive any form of explanation from management regarding the salary disparities.