The Chief Labour Officer, Mr Eugene Korletey, has summoned the management of GCB Bank to a meeting following the dismissal of some 164 staff of the bank.

The meeting is to ascertain the nature of the termination of appointments of the former staff of the defunct UT and Capital banks who were absorbed by GCB following the Purchase and Assumption of the two banks by GCB.

No explanation

According to some of the workers, who did not want to be named, the termination of appointments came with no notice or explanation.

The aggrieved workers have since engaged the services of a labour consultant, Mr Seth Ablosu, to lead them in discussions with the management of GCB Bank.

However, two meetings between the bank and the consultant, scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, and Thursday, March 21, 2019, failed to come off because the bank did not acknowledge receiving any communication in relation to the proposed meetings.

Termination blues

The consultant, therefore, referred the matter to the Chief Labour Officer as a result of which the parties have been summoned.

A letter by the consultant detailing some of the challenges with the action of the bank and addressed to the Chief Labour Officer said "The scale of terminations so far appear to be targeted at ex-workers of UT and Capital Bank after they have conscientiously worked to ensure the seamless transfer of customers records and details of transaction to ensure a successful integration exercise".

Clarify termination

When contacted, the Chief Labour Officer confirmed the invitation to the two parties to discuss the matter.

He said the matter was within the jurisdiction of the Labour Department because it was not a dispute but to clarify the nature of the termination of the appointments of the staff.

"If it is a redundancy, then we need to ask the parties to negotiate on issues," he told the Daily Graphic.

Under Section 30 of the Labour Act 2003, the termination of appointments is not to affect leave entitlements earned by staff.

The section also states that where the employment of a worker is terminated, the worker is entitled to annual leave in proportion to the period of service in the calendar year.

A worker whose employment is terminated shall, therefore, not be deprived of any other grants or awards to which he or she is entitled, including payment in lieu of notice of termination.

Context

In August 2017, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) approved a Purchase and Assumption transaction with the GCB Bank that transferred all deposits and selected assets of UT Bank Limited and Capital Bank Limited to GCB Bank Limited.

The BoG further said that the banking licenses of the two banks had been revoked as a result of severe impairment of their capital.

"All staff in the interim will become staff of GCB Bank, and GCB Bank will negotiate the terms of their contract," the BoG said in a statement.