UNICOF to strike over Stanchart’s layoffs

The Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance (UNICOF) has threatened to embark on a strike following moves by Standard Chartered Bank to lay off 65 workers of the bank by Friday, July 17, 2015.

The move to strike follows a deadlock between management of Standard Chartered Bank and UNICOF over the matter, which was forwarded to the National Labour Commission (NLC).

Citi Business News has gathered that UNICOF and the local union of the bank have threatened to go ahead to strike because the bank has failed to implement fully a ruling from the National Labour Commission (NLC).

However, documents sighted by Citi Business News from the bank to workers said Standard Chartered bank was adhering to the National Labour Commission’s ruling.

The letter, which was dated June 25, 2015 revealed that the commission at its sitting on Wednesday, 24th June 2015 heard the matter brought by Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited (Complainants) against UNICOF (Respondents) over the deadlock in the determination of redundancy pay for the workers to be laid off.

The commission, upon hearing the parties’ arguments, ordered that the base pay shall be two months for each year served capped for 35 months.

It was also ruled that long services award, disturbance awards, as well as handshake, be declined.

The Commission directed that the notice of termination should be one month while repatriation shall be GH¢2,300, among others.

But UNICOF, upon receipt of the ruling from the NLC, filed for a review describing the decision of the NLC as ambiguous.

In a letter to the Executive Secretary of NLC, lawyer of UNICOF, Charles Bawaduah sought clarification on some of the directives of the commission.

UNICOF wanted clarification on what the commission meant by directing that the base pay should be two months for each year served capped for 35 months, why the commission did not recognize the disturbance allowance, as well as the decision by the commission to decline the long service award.

UNICOF in the interim, while it sought clarification in a letter dated July 7, 2015, served the National Labour Commission as well as Standard Charted Bank that it would embark on a strike within seven days in response to the move.