Staff of Consolidated Bank asked to re-apply

Staff of Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) have been notified via email to re-apply for their jobs in the company.

Some staff of all the five defunct banks which were merged into the Consolidated Bank Ghana have confirmed to the B&FT that they received emails last week, between Wednesday and Thursday, asking them to reapply for their jobs via a link to the recruitment portal.

The email said, though, that submission of their details on the recruitment portal would not guarantee the staff their jobs- and that those who are shortlisted for the next stage of the recruitment process will be required to take a placement assessment.

The notice, a staff from one of the defunct banks said, has further increased the anxiety and tension in the bank’s business centres – as the fear of job-losses keeps worsening.

“For now, all we can do is to pray. We don’t know who will keep his or her job at the end of this month, as the 60-day grace period will end in September,” the person said.

The source added that most of the workers have started applying for jobs in other companies, hoping that they will be called.

The notice follows an earlier one by management of the new bank, which told staff they would only be guaranteed employment for 60 days – after which they would be assessed to determine whether or not they would be retained.

Meanwhile, management of the CBG has moved to quell fears circulating in the media about massive lay-offs, saying some of the affected staff will provide outsourced services to the bank.

“A core part of this integration and rationalisation exercise is career-training programmes for all staff who may be exited as a result. CBG is also finalising a plan for affected staff to transition to other economic models which will enable them to provide essential outsourced services for the bank where appropriate,” the bank said in a press release.

“CBG is an indigenous bank with a strong balance sheet, well-positioned to protect the best interests of our depositors and staff. We look forward to an enduring partnership with all our stakeholders and to building an entity that will transcend this generation,” a statement signed by its CEO, Daniel Wilson Addo, noted.

While admitting there will be a number of job losses following the consolidation, he said the bank will put measures in place to ensure the move does not impose undue hardship on staff.