Former bank staff petition Parliament
No more. People take shelter outside the building that housed the National Bank of Commerce in Kabale Town on Wednesday. PHOTO BY ROBERT MUHEREZA
What you need to know:
Optimism. They hope the Speaker of Parliament exercises her constitutional mandate to compel Bank of Uganda to pay their terminal benefits.
Thirty four former employees of the defunct National Bank of Commerce have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament over alleged failure by Bank of Uganda to pay them their terminal benefits worth Shs2.4b, six years after they lost their jobs.
The former employees said on September 27, 2012, that Bank of Uganda sold National Bank of Commerce to Crane Bank and the sale agreement did not include provisions of protecting the labour rights of the former employees, especially receiving their terminal benefits.
The petition comes at the time when the committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) of Parliament is investigating Bank of Uganda over the closure of seven commercial banks that include International Credit Bank Limited, Greenland Bank, Uganda Cooperative Bank, Teefe Trust, National Bank of Commerce, Global Trust Bank and Crane Bank.
“ On October 12, 2012, the former staff of the closed National Bank of Commerce were handed termination letters signed by Mr Godfrey Massajja, the then acting director commercial banking at Bank of Uganda. Issues for investigations include why Bank of Uganda failed to envisage and include liabilities related to terminal benefits of the former employees in the sell agreement with Crane Bank.”
“Secondly, why the former employees were never paid their terminal benefits including severance pay amounting to Shs 2.47b for six years after the sale of National Bank of Commerce. Thirdly why Bank of Uganda did not remit the NSSF contributions of the employees of National Bank of Commerce deducted from their salaries for the months of September and October 2012 amounting to Shs47.6m.’’ the petition dated November 21 reads in part.
The petitioners include Mr Frank Mutaremwa, Mr David Luswata and 32 others.
The executive director in charge of supervision at Bank of Uganda, Dr Tumubweine Twinemanzi yesterday said he cannot comment much on the matter since it is still being handled by courts of law.
The director of communication and public affairs at Parliament, Mr Chris Obore, on Tuesday, said that he had no information on the subject although one of the petitioners, Mr Frank Mutaremwa, said he personally delivered the petition to the office of the Speaker of Parliament.
